


Matching Heartbeats: Sokkla Saturdays 2020

by Seyary_Minamoto



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang breaks out of the iceberg 20-30 years earlier AU @ Day 3, Angst and Feels @ Day 4, Azula and Iroh work together @ Day 7, Azula in Team Avatar Au @ Day 5, Azula is Banished AU @ Day 7, Azula is Zuko's Spymaster @ Day 6, Birthing @ Day 2, Canon Divergence from the Chase @ Day 5, Criticism of Fire Nation Mental Asylum @ Day 4, Dark Ursa @ Day 7, Even more shameless smut @ Day 8, F/M, Fluff, Handjob and fingering @ Day 6, Happy endings galore in every entry because my soul demands it, Humor, Hurt/Comfort @ Day 4, Kya is alive @ Day 8, Mild Smut @ Day 3, Minor Maiko @ Day 5, Nude shenanigans @ Day 4, Oral sex @ Day 6, Organized crime @ Day 8, Pentapus - Freeform @ Day 4, Pregnancy @ Day 2, Reciprocal Oral Sex @ Day 8, Reconciliation @ Day 4, Secret Relationship @ Day 1, Shameless Smut @ Day 6, Sorry Suki @ Day 5, Steambaby @ Day 2, Stuck in a closet @ Day 6, Tattoos @ Day 8, Zuki @ Day 9, Zuko ships Sokkla @ Day 9, also known as 'Ozai isn't that much of a dick' AU @ Day 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:35:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 119,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26794495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seyary_Minamoto/pseuds/Seyary_Minamoto
Summary: The lives they may lead, and the choices they make, offer countless possible horizons for a Fire Nation Princess and a Water Tribe warrior: they're inevitably drawn together in each of them. Collection of oneshot entries for the Sokkla Saturdays 2020 event.Day 1: "I lost my clothes and need to borrow yours"Day 2: "As if that would happen"Day 3: Arranged marriage - TouchDay 4: Lost in a Forest and FeelingsDay 5: "I melt in your hands"Day 6: Making a dealDay 7: LoyaltyDay 8: Yakuza AUDay 9: Sokkla is painful for Zuko
Relationships: Azula/Sokka (Avatar)
Comments: 72
Kudos: 179





	1. Day 1: "I lost my clothes and I need to borrow yours"

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be partaking in the Sokkla Saturdays initiative! If you wish to join in, feel free to participate with your own content for the upcoming Saturdays (it's spanning from October 3rd to November 28th). You can find the prompts on Tumblr's sokkla blog, feel free to contact me via DMs if you need further info to participate.
> 
> Without further ado, here we go!

Aang had always been a cheerful young man, but he had certainly never met anyone quite as enthusiastic and optimistic as Guozhi. He was ten years Aang's senior (or, perhaps, Aang was ninety years his?), and he behaved with the childish wonderment of a toddler sometimes, so thrilled by the changing times that it was difficult to keep up with him, even for the Avatar. Aang rather enjoyed working with the man, who had a grand vision for the future of Republic City: he had been chosen by Earth King Kuei as the Earth Kingdom's representative to sit on the growing city's council, and he seemed most eager to put his overflowing energies to good use by working in politics.

That being said… there were drawbacks to a man with such rambunctious personality. Such as the one Aang was facing right now:

"I know you were excited, but we told Sokka we'd come by at ten… it's still seven!" Aang exclaimed, but Guozhi ignored him, humming a random tune as he rushed up the stairs of the building they had only just entered freely – the Avatar was always allowed to go wherever he pleased, a fact Guozhi couldn't seem to get enough of.

"I know, I know, but isn't this exciting?!" exclaimed Guozhi, beaming. "You and I, the first members of the Council of Republic City, shall be recruiting the third one today! I can't wait to meet him!"

Aang sighed but smiled, following Guozhi until they reached the third floor, where Sokka's current apartment was. Aang had only met Guozhi a couple of weeks ago, after Kuei had sent him as his envoy, and he hadn't been able to introduce him to anyone but Katara so far, since Guozhi had been living with them, if only temporarily, while his new accommodations were settled. Sokka had been somewhat elusive as of late, and Toph was far too busy with her police force to spend time greeting Aang's new friends… even so, Aang had managed to send a message to Sokka two days ago, asking if he would be open for meeting with him and Guozhi… Sokka had only sent back an agreement to their meeting yesterday afternoon, telling them to drop by at ten. And it was seven. Oh, he'd be so angry…

"Okay, okay, this is the one, right?" Guozhi announced, stopping at the door. "Can we knock yet? Or do you want us to stand out here for three hours instead? I mean, you could tell me all about how you defeated the Fire Lord again, if you'd like! I know you've already told me the story, but I wouldn't mind hearing it once more, it'll make it even more vivid to revisit it and…!"

"Oh, Guozhi," Aang sighed, smiling awkwardly and patting his shoulder. "Just… wait for a moment, okay? I'll do the talking. If he's not up for seeing us yet, I guess we'll just wait. Alright?"

"Fine, yes, go ahead! Right on ahead!" Guozhi grinned, almost vibrating with excitement. "I'm going to meet Sokka… Sokka! Team Avatar's genius!"

"Well, keep calling him that and he'll definitely like you quickly," Aang smiled before turning towards the door.

He knocked softly, biting his lip as he waited to hear any sounds. Nothing. He knocked again, a little louder, and called:

"Sokka? I… I'm sorry, buddy, I know we're a bit earlier than you told us, but… you think you can see us yet?"

At first, nothing. Then… a soft rustling. Aang frowned: he couldn't hear remotely as well as Toph could, but after many years of training his seismic sense, he had learned to pick up vibrations even without trying to. So, how about genuinely trying to…?

He stepped hard on the floor, startling Guozhi: he sensed the man beside him, but also the corridor, and the living room, just past the door… a rather messy, chaotic room, it seemed. And then, beyond that… movement. There was movement inside: Sokka was home, and he was awake, too.

"What was that? Was that some secret Avatar intimidation technique?!" asked Guozhi, grinning "I wanna try it!"

He stepped hard on the floor too, making a strange, angry face that broke into a grin mere seconds afterwards. He whipped his head towards Aang, his long hair spinning in the air as he waited for the Avatar's approval.

"Well? How did I do?" he asked, beaming.

"Uh… great! Really good job!" Aang smiled, though he chose to knock on the door again. Sokka wouldn't take it well if he knew Aang had been using his seismic sense against him, to a fault… "Sokka? I think I hear you in there? Again, buddy, I'm sorry, but…!"

Clumsy, quick footsteps rushed to the door, which opened with a light creak: only a sliver of room could be seen through the now ajar door. And the blue eye that lurked behind it should have seemed menacing, Aang thought, as he pulled away worriedly… but instead, it seemed he was panicking just as much as Aang was.

"Aang…? D-didn't I ask you to come later, dammit?" Sokka squeaked.

"Sorry, buddy," Aang said, with an awkward smile. "We can wait until you're decent, though!"

"Heh. That sure helps," Sokka growled. "Just… give me a minute, okay? I've got, well… stuff to deal with first."

"Oh. Uh, sure?" said Aang.

"We'll wait! We can! See, now you can tell me the story of the Fire Lord's defeat again," Guozhi said, nudging Aang as Sokka frowned.

"Well, now, Aang doesn't tell it right," he huffed. Aang laughed as Guozhi gasped, excitedly.

"And you do?! Oh, you must tell me!" Guozhi exclaimed, startling both Aang and Sokka as he rushed to the door.

Sokka leapt back for his own sake, realizing Aang's new friend would push the door open so brusquely it'd smack him in the face if he didn't get out of the way. All those months on a journey during his teenage years, fielding blows of all sorts, whether friendly or not, had definitely done wonders for his reflexes and ability to avoid dangerous attacks…

But perhaps it would have been a good idea to stay behind the door, preventing it from swinging open in a rush, allowing Aang and his friend to see the inside of Sokka's apartment… the messy inside of Sokka's apartment.

Sokka himself wasn't in the most respectable of shapes: he had dressed up lightly only, lacking a belt with which to close his sleeveless shirt and to ensure his pants wouldn't tumble down his waist. His hair was a ruffled mess too, but what startled Aang the most were the darkened stains on his skin over his neck and abdomen.

"Sokka? Are you okay?" Aang asked, stepping closer to his friend, who grimaced and leapt back. "You look…! What's with your skin, buddy? You should go see Katara, she can probably help…!"

"I don't need Katara's help!" Sokka exclaimed. "B-besides, you two said you could wait, go back outside while I fix this place!"

"Fix it? Well, I like messy places!" said Guozhi, grinning before stepping up towards Sokka. "I'm Guozhi! You're Sokka! I'm the new Representative for the Earth Kingdom in the Republic City Council, and we want you to be the Southern Water Tribe representative!"

"Y-you… woah, woah, woah, WHAT?!" Sokka exclaimed, turning to Aang with eyes wide as plates. "Are you trying to tell me that… that all along this was for a job interview?!"

"Uh… sort of?" Aang grinned awkwardly.

"You totally should do it, though! You're the Avatar's friend! The genius of Team Avatar!" Guozhi exclaimed, clapping excitedly. Sokka blinked blankly before raising an eyebrow.

"Well, can't argue with that, but hey, why didn't you at least think to ask me if I want to, first of all?" Sokka said, turning to Aang again.

"Uh, that's literally why we're here? To ask you?" Aang said, with an awkward smile. "Look, we'll explain everything right now, but are you sure you're okay? We haven't heard that much from you in the past month or so? I did want to check on you anyways, but I didn't think you might be sick…"

"I'm not. I'm not sick, Aang," Sokka said, with an awkward smile. "Now, though, you can just… wait until ten, right? It's really early, way too early, I never get up at this hour and I could use a moment to get adjusted to this ridiculous situation, not to mention clean things up? So…"

"You sure?" Aang said, before sighing and shrugging. "Well… I know Guozhi isn't the type to judge, and you and I go way back! So, you know, maybe to make up for what we just did, we can help you clean up! How does that sound?"

"Uh, no. Definitely not! Haha, ha, why would I have the Avatar and his friend cleaning up my house? That's stupid!" Sokka exclaimed: the panic in his behavior was even more alarming now than before. Aang crooked an eyebrow.

"Sokka…?" he said. Sokka blinked blankly.

"What?"

"Are you hiding something?" he asked.

"No…?" Sokka mumbled. Aang, however, snorted and laughed.

"Come on, if this mess is because you adopted a pet, I'm the last guy who'd be against it! Oh, wait, is that what that thing on your skin is? Are you allergic to…?"

"I'm not allergic to anything, I…!" Sokka exclaimed, before shutting his mouth tightly. So he didn't want to make noise? Aang frowned, confused again. "There's no pet. Nothing like that. And I can fix this without your help, I don't need…"

"Oh? That's fancy."

The color drained from Sokka's face when he glanced at Guozhi: he was holding a flowing, silken robe in his hands… a red, flowing, silken robe. Aang glanced between the robe and Sokka for a moment, as the non-bender raised a hand, as to speak… and no sounds came out.

That was what convinced Aang to try again: his seismic sense was nowhere near as good as Toph's, but he was sure he could feel more of the apartment's contents now than before…

Aang slammed a foot onto the floor, and Sokka was far too late to stop him. He gasped and turned towards the Avatar, mortified… unable to stop Aang from sensing that there was one more person inside his bedroom.

Aang's eyes met Sokka's. Sokka's eyes met Aang's. Guozhi watched them both, curious and amused.

"Well… it is a nice robe," he said, again. "Is it you want it for yourself, Aang? I guess it needs to be washed before you can use it, but…"

"Sokka?" Aang asked. Sokka shook his head immediately. "Sokka…"

"Nothing! No! There's… t-there's a nice restaurant, two blocks down! You two head down there, and I'll meet you right there! Just…!"

Nothing he said could convince Aang to leave now, he knew. Guozhi appeared utterly clueless, even now, of the fact that the robe he was holding belonged to a woman… and that its colors didn't match Sokka's usual outfits. It wasn't something a stranger could know, but Guozhi made nothing of it, even while watching the Avatar and his brother-in-law acting rather strangely towards each other…

"Sokka," Aang repeated, for the third time, and his friend only whimpered and shook his head.

"Just go, please, I'll join your weird Council if I have to but just get out before…"

"Ugh, what's all this ruckus? So much shouting, and after the night we had, too… can't you deal with your friends quietly when you know others are sleeping?"

The color drained from Sokka's face at first, and then it rushed back at such force Aang could only wonder if he would grow dizzy over such violently varying blood flow. Yet it was difficult to focus on Sokka… when the obvious owner of the red, elegant robe stood at the doorway.

Sokka gritted his teeth and turned, slowly, powerless to stop to the guaranteed catastrophe that was about to take place…

Her hair was messily, newly tied up in a lazy ponytail, and her body, to his deep relief, wasn't fully exhibited for everyone to see… despite her clothes had been scattered across the living room, during yesterday's wild frenzy. It happened every time she visited… which had been just about every day in the past month. At one point, she had spent a whole week without leaving his apartment, and Sokka could only rejoice in that… but he didn't particularly plan for his best friend to see his secret girlfriend wearing nothing but one of Sokka's own shirts. It was long enough to cover her down to her thighs… but the message about what she was doing here was loud and clear. And the sight of her, just like that, sent so many impulsive urges rushing through Sokka's body and mind… but the rational mind was determined to overcome the irrational one, for now, and he only gazed at Azula pleadingly as she stood at the bedroom's threshold, arms folded over her chest.

"What?" she said, at Sokka's silent staring. "Oh, this? Yeah, I misplaced my clothes, as usual. I figured it was fine to borrow some of yours while I found out what all the shouting and noise was about…?"

"Y-you just…" Sokka said, before sighing and hanging his head. "You look so good I can't even stare at you anymore."

"Ah. Nice to know," Azula replied, smirking haughtily as the Avatar's hands moved up to his bald head.

"Y-you two have been…?! W-what is this, Sokka?!" Aang exclaimed. Sokka grunted, glaring at him.

"It's something new and really cool, is what it is!" he huffed, though to his embarrassment, Azula seemed to find his defense of their relationship rather amusing. "And what's so funny? I know we'd thought we'd keep this quiet for now, b-but…! Well, we can't anymore. It's not really my fault, by the way, I told you last night they'd arrive at ten because they said they would and now…!"

"So defensive and frantic, Sokka. One would think you're sleeping with the enemy… Oh, wait a minute," Azula said, tapping her chin playfully as Sokka groaned and covered his face with his hands. She still smirked in his direction afterwards, and Aang raised an eyebrow as he struggled to grapple with the reality they presented.

"S-so, wait, you two are…? Like, the two of you…?" Aang said, fear plain across his eyes.

"Oh, you didn't know Sokka has a girlfriend?" asked Guozhi, regaining everyone's attention without expecting to: Azula frowned as she stared at the clothes he was still holding onto.

"That's… mine," she said, cuttingly. Guozhi grinned awkwardly before handing it to her.

"Sorry about that. Though… wait a minute," said Guozhi, blinking blankly as he gazed at Azula, "You look Fire Nation. You must be Fire Nation!"

"Oh, must I?" Azula replied, smirking. Sokka sighed.

"This guy is… the new representative of the Earth Kingdom for Republic City's Council," he explained to Azula, who nodded.

"I see. And why is he tagging after the Avatar to check on his brother-in-law?" Azula asked.

"They apparently had some weird plans to rope me into their fancy council without telling me beforehand," Sokka grunted, his eyebrow twitching as Azula eyed him with interest.

"My, my. Is that so? Councilman Sokka… well, that sounds interesting," she smirked. Sokka huffed.

"I don't see what's interesting about it, myself," he growled. "And I guess they should be explaining, but… uh, I guess Aang's still processing things and he's not about to talk anytime soon."

"Y-you and Azula…" he said, shaking his head. "Oh, Katara's going to lose it. She's so going to lose it…"

"Which is kind of why we didn't tell everyone about it right away…?" Sokka said, with a significant and slightly threatening smile. Aang, however, was so lost in thought he couldn't seem to listen to him at all.

"Well, it's why you didn't want to tell everyone about it. Me? I told you watching our respective siblings have a nervous meltdown would be hilarious," Azula smirked, shrugging. "Goodness, come to think of it, I wouldn't want to miss her reaction: can we go to the Avatar's island today, so we can see the look on your sister's face once she sees us holding hands?"

"You suggested something a little more intense than holding hands the last time you wanted to torment her with our relationship…" Sokka said, smiling a little as Azula huffed.

"Well, fine, then. If that's how you want it, a make-out session it is…"

"Hey! Y-you're not… no! You can't just go to my place unannounced just to…!"

"Can't we, now?" Azula smirked. Sokka huffed.

"Considering you barged into mine, three hours before our agreed meeting time?" Sokka asked.

"Not to mention… you do want something from Sokka, don't you? One would think you shouldn't be denying other people's wishes when you want them to do something for you, should you?" Azula smirked. To her delight, Sokka actually snickered at Aang's increasing outrage.

"That's not the point!" Aang exclaimed. Sokka sighed and shook his head, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. "It's… this is a huge deal! It's the two of you! Sokka, it's Azula, the Fire Nation's Princess? You shouldn't be…!"

"Woah, that's who you were? I thought the name was familiar, I did…!" Guozhi said, gazing at Azula in surprise. "But I couldn't recognize you at all. See, I saw you once, back in Ba Sing Se, I think? When you took the city? But then you left so it was just one glimpse and you were really young – though so was I, but still…"

"Ah, you want confirmation of my identity?" Azula said, raising an eyebrow… and then a hand, where a sudden burst of blue fire startled and delighted Guozhi on equal measure.

"Ahaha! It is her! It's…! Ooooh, it's amazing! The Southern Water Tribe's Chief's son, and the Fire Lord's sister! It's a match for the ages! You two should be…!"

"What the…?! Guozhi, that's not what we're here to do, this isn't a matchmaking session…!"

"Of course it's not: the match's all made by now" Sokka grinned, glancing at Azula who wrinkled her nose suggestively in his direction. Sokka couldn't contain a laugh as the Princess stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you need me to leave, though? I was planning to, when we thought your meeting was at ten…"

"Eh, what for" Sokka smiled, shrugging. "I'd rather you're here. You can help me get rid of this job offer faster, right?"

"Rid of it?" Azula said, raising her eyebrows. "Say… why, exactly, do you want to get rid of it?"

"Because… I don't want to be a councilman?" Sokka said, looking at her with utter perplexity. "Why would I?"

"Ah, beyond having enough power to shape this city into whatever you wish to make it?" Azula said, before smirking and leaning close to whisper in his ear. "Because Councilman Sokka sounds… hot."

Sokka blinked blankly a couple of times, and yet again, his cheeks were flooded with color once Azula pulled away. She seemed utterly satisfied with his reaction, especially when he suddenly smiled at Aang.

"S-so… you really want to offer me that job?" he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Uh… I don't know. I mean, sure? But…" Aang said, sighing and shaking his head. "Okay, I'm torn here. I don't know whether you two are the best match of all time or the worst one and… I'm not sure I want to know?"

"Oh, relax, Avatar. How is it any of your business what I do to your brother-in-law behind closed doors?" Azula asked, rolling her eyes.

"Not to mention…" said Guozhi, smiling brightly at the surprising couple… and then at Aang. "We're still short two more representatives, you know? Even if Sokka agrees. So…"

"Oh, you are?" Sokka asked. Guozhi grinned and nodded.

"Yeah. The Northern Water Tribe one, and the Fire Nation one," he said.

Sokka froze before glancing at the woman standing beside him: her grip over his arm had tightened, and now her eyes glowed with interest… perhaps even with greed. It was surely a quality many other people would consider terrifying, especially in the eyes of someone as dangerous as Azula… yet Sokka's heart leapt in his chest, and his lower regions tingled pleasantly for it. She wanted this… just as she had wanted him, many times, throughout the last month. And so far, he was as happy as could be with the result of giving Azula what she wanted… so would it be a good idea for her to serve as Councilwoman, representing the Fire Nation?

Aang, naturally, was frozen cold at Guozhi's suggestion. It seemed he had lost his breath altogether, as well as his chance to approve or disapprove of the sudden turn of events. Oh, this could be amazing… and it could be a nightmare, just the same. That those two were in a relationship was already plenty to process… but for Azula to become Councilwoman? Azula, of all people…?

"Who exactly is in charge of choosing members for this council?" Azula asked, smiling slowly.

"So far? Uh, well, Avatar Aang got started with the initiative, so he's the Air Nomad representative, for now," said Guozhi. "He asked King Kuei for a representative, and he suggested me! And then Aang thought Sokka would work well as representative for the Water Tribe, because his father surely would approve! And… I guess we would've asked Fire Lord Zuko for any advice on who to choose, right? But what for? His sister is already here! It's perfect!"

"P-perfect…?" Aang asked. Sokka cleared his throat.

"I'd think the current members of the council ought to vote regarding recruiting Princess Azula as the Fire Nation's representative," he announced, pompously. Azula snorted and smirked knowingly at him. "Which is, of course, the three of us. So! All in favor?"

Sokka and Guozhi raised their hands, prompting Azula to laugh as Aang stared at her in chagrin. To this moment, this whole morning had been utterly surreal… and he still had no idea if any of what was going on was a good idea. Yet Sokka seemed so sure of himself… he didn't seem to doubt Azula, in the least. One day, Aang guessed, he'd understand why that was… one day he'd figure out why Sokka seemed to trust the Princess who had given them chase and fought against them for so many years. It wouldn't be today, for sure, but there had to be more at play involved than mere lust, especially when they smiled at each other with such surprising affection…

"I guess that's settled, then," Sokka grinned. "We'll send a bird to Zuko! He'll be thrilled, I'm sure."

"Oh, so thrilled," Azula snickered, shaking her head.

"T-then… you're both taking the jobs?" Aang said. "I mean, well, I didn't exactly plan to offer you one, Azula, but… you want to do this? Are you sure? I mean, it's a lot of work! Diplomacy and solving petty problems and deciding on laws and such…? Are you sure it's what you want to do?"

The Princess released a breath, letting her gaze travel upwards to find Sokka's own, which was fixed upon her. He smiled encouragingly, and she could only reciprocate his grin wholeheartedly as her hand slipped down his forearm until her fingers intertwined with his. She glanced at Aang again, speaking with utmost confidence, her perennial proud smirk on her face:

"When do we start?"


	2. Day 2: "As if that would happen"

The discomfort had been bad enough long before it started to be accompanied by pain: Azula gritted her teeth, bearing with the unpleasant, involuntary shudders of her lower body while clinging tightly to the firm, calloused hand that held hers.

"It's… a bad one. Damn it…" Azula gasped, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Breathe, love. Just breathe through it, like you did with the last one… you're my hero, you know? Putting up with all this…"

"For the second time… if I may add?" Azula hissed, wincing at one more painful shudder before whatever had clenched up inside her body loosened up at last: the pain receded gradually, and she sighed as she sank into the pillows, breathing heavily while still gripping that same hand as hard as she had needed to.

So far, he hadn't complained about the pain a single time. It would be strange to Azula, for Sokka often complained about any form of pain anyone inflicted upon him… but watching her writhing as each contraction took hold of her body appeared to hurt him far more than a few paling fingers could.

"S-sorry…" she said, regardless, releasing his hand despite he didn't make any moves to suggest he needed her to let go.

"And why are you apologizing, exactly?" Sokka smiled, reaching up to stroke her disorderly hair gently. "What you're going through… I'm pretty sure what you're doing to my hand can't even be a fragment of what you're enduring."

"Heh… must be I've been weakened by the contractions, then," she mumbled. Sokka chuckled and shook his head. "Here I thought I was exerting all my strength in holding your hand, but it turns out it's not even a fragment of what I'm going through…?"

Sokka rolled his eyes, prompting Azula to chuckle. She had meant to tease him: it was more than a bit unnerving to see him so serious and tense, even if she knew the situation warranted it. Messing with him, however lightly as it might be, would ease her heart far more effectively at this stage than anything else she could think of.

Naturally, Sokka retaliated against her words by showing her his right hand: indeed, the area Azula had gripped the tightest was paler than the rest of his hand and arm, and she bit her lip somewhat guiltily as Sokka leaned closer to her, still holding up his hand between them.

"I'm seriously expecting my hand to fall off at this rate, Azula. And yes, it hurts like hell, and I'm willing to lose it if that's what I have to do for you. But, besides that? I'm damn sure what you're going through is a thousand times more painful than losing a hand would be. So yeah, I know you love playing around with my words, but you know exactly what I was trying to say, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Azula smiled, closing her eyes as she tried to relax – as much as someone with a nine-month-old baby bump could relax. "But I like teasing you far too much. Plus… I have no idea if my grip is really that strong right now, Sokka. When the contractions hit that hard, it's not easy to focus on anything else… so I figured, despite I knew what you meant, that maybe I am a little weaker anyway."

"Heh, you? Weak? As if that would ever happen," Sokka smiled, reaching up to stroke her hair. "You're my hero, you know. I say it all the time, but still… you've put up with every challenge life has thrown at you and you've come out on top every time…"

"Eh? Not quite sure of that," Azula grimaced. "Sometimes I didn't wind up in the best of shapes, as you well know…"

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure you're the only person who's stared Death in the face as many times as you have and told him: 'You know what? Try a little harder next time', so…"

Azula couldn't hold back a chortle before a spring of laughter burst from her lips. Sokka smiled, watching her laugh at first before joining her with a few soft laughs of his own. His hand, weakened as it was, reached for hers all the same. Her fingers, so desperate, urgent and violent before, now smoothly caressed the back of his hand, and Sokka wasn't sure whether she sought comfort in their touch, or if she meant to reassure him instead.

"That's a lie, and you know it," Azula finally said. Sokka huffed, eyeing her skeptically.

"No, it's not," he declared, proudly.

"If I'd truly stared Death in the face, no matter how many times I allegedly did, and said such words to it? I'd likely have been inspired by your example in doing so," Azula smiled. "So… the lie isn't really that I wouldn't do that to Death, it's that I'm hardly the only person who does that."

"Eh… fine, then. If you insist, but my point still stands: you're strong as hell, no matter what you say," Sokka said, smiling warmly as his free hand stroked her hair once more. Upon finding a few droplets of sweat on her forehead, Sokka reached quickly for a small towel they had kept on the bed's nightstand, for the very purpose of drying Azula's brow whenever she needed it.

He dipped the towel in the basin, half-filled with cool water. Where Azula normally recoiled from cold things, she sighed in bliss at the touch of that fabric against her heating forehead. Sokka smiled warmly at her, as Azula released a deep breath, nestling as comfortably as possible in the mattress. Her thumb brushed his hand, and as gentle and sweet as the touch of the towel might be, Azula's brow was furrowed once he pulled it away.

"Another one?" Sokka asked. Azula shook her head lightly.

"Just… I guess it's dumb to worry about this now, isn't it?" she mumbled. "We're at the final stretch of the race, after all. But I can't help but wonder if… if we're truly ready for this. We've managed so far, with just one child, but do you really think we can handle ourselves, our responsibilities, while also raising two kids? I mean, there's no choice but to do it, but…"

"But you're worried," Sokka said. Azula swallowed hard and nodded. "Well… it's only natural to worry, I'd think. I'm not sure anyone can feel wholly confident about their ability to raise a little tyke all the way from being a toddler to adulthood, you know? I'd be surprised if anyone was that sure of themselves…"

"I'm just afraid of… of making the same mistakes they did," Azula whispered. "My parents…"

"Oh, well, now that's not something you should worry about," Sokka said, with a heartfelt smile. "You've already proven you're a thousand times the parent either of them could hope to be…"

"With one kid? Yes. Can it be the same with two?" Azula mumbled. "I mean, I'll try my best, but… that's where a lot of families seem to fuck up. Mine did, for sure. I know yours didn't, but still…"

"You're definitely underestimating just how good a mother you are," Sokka answered. "I'm pretty sure you'll never mess up the way they did. But, if you really need it… I guess I'll try to reassure you by promising that, if I ever think you're taking after either of them, I'll stage a full-blown intervention."

"Ah? That sounds dangerous," Azula smiled. Sokka nodded pompously.

"I'll lock us up in our room, and after I work out all your frustrations in the best possible way…"

"Oh no, please don't say that. Now I'll start wanting to be a bad mother just so you can do that…"

Sokka snorted and laughed halfway through his explanations. Azula smirked at him and he shook his head, forcing himself to focus anew.

"And after that's done, we'll talk things through and we'll figure out what we're doing wrong so we can start doing it right once we leave the room. See? Easy-peasy," he said, grinning. Azula sighed and smiled warmly at him.

"I really don't think it'd be that easy, but sometimes you believe in me so wholeheartedly that I can't help but trust you completely. It's terrible," she said, prompting him to laugh anew.

"I think your instincts trust my instincts, and that's what makes this marriage work perfectly," he decided, leaning close to press a kiss to her brow. "We'll do right by our new kid, Azula. We won't let anything go wrong. The Royal Family is revitalized, changed, renewed as it is… all the bad blood, the nasty stuff that plagued you as a kid, is long gone now. You'll be okay, and our little ones will be too. I'm sure of it."

"I wonder if anyone in this whole world has ever had as much faith in someone as you do in me…" Azula smiled affectionately, cupping his cheek. "I hope I'll never give you reason to stop believing in me…"

"Heh. As if that could ever happen," Sokka said, again, and Azula chuckled, shaking her head.

"Is that how you'll answer everything I say now?" she asked. Sokka failed to bite back a grin. "How about if I say I'm afraid you might not find me appealing anymore after my body's many changes, now that I've gone through two pregnancies?"

"Ha! That one deserves it more than the previous things you've said: as if I could ever, EVER, find you any less appealing, Azula," Sokka hissed, kissing her lips quickly as she laughed.

"I suppose, if you'd kiss me when I look like this, it must be true…" she mused. "I must look like a wreck, lying here as I am…"

"You're even more beautiful today than ever before, no matter how many pregnancies you've been through, or how many years have gone by…"

"How much weight I've put on? Granted, it's also because I was pregnant, but…"

"Didn't I tell you enough times that that's no reason to love you any less?" Sokka smiled. Azula bit her lip but grinned too.

"Fine, then. I'll stop testing you. You've become too skilled at fielding my verbal attacks…"

"It was about time I did, wasn't it?" Sokka laughed, stroking her hair. "We've been together forever now. If I couldn't hold my own in our arguments you'd likely have grown bored of me by now."

"Eh. Probably," Azula acknowledged, smirking mischievously as Sokka chuckled and pressed his brow to hers.

"I love you more every day that goes by," he whispered. "And moments like these only make me love you even more than I already did before."

"I sure hope so…" Azula said, and the edge of her smile waned as it softened into a gentle grin. "Because, loving you any less? As if that could ever happen."

"Ah? Are we really going to play that game with each other now?" Sokka chuckled. Azula grinned and shrugged innocently. "Well, then…!"

He didn't have a chance to tease Azula with that phrase again, for the sound of the opening door of Azula's assigned room cut off Sokka's words. He glanced back, and his lighthearted mood shifted once his blue eyes met his sister's own.

"Okay… our half hour's up. Did you have more contractions?" Katara asked, glancing at Azula, who nodded almost shyly.

"There was one just a moment ago. It was… intense," Azula said, unwilling to acknowledge how painful it had been. Projecting strength was a wasted ordeal, she knew, especially when Katara was going to witness the birth of her second child in a matter of hours, or less than that, and no moment in a mother's life could be as vulnerable as that… but it wasn't easy to break old habits nonetheless.

"Then I guess this is probably it," Katara sighed, biting her lip as she glanced at her brother. "Sokka…?"

"Y-you sure I can't stay?" he asked, eyeing Katara desperately now. "I… I'll be good. I promise I won't cause trouble, I just want to help…"

"Oh, Sokka…" Katara sighed, stepping closer to her pouting brother, who slouched in his chair, right beside Azula, for he knew his sister's voice tone could only herald a negative answer to his request. "You've seen a lot of stuff, I'll give you that… but I don't think you, of all people, can watch your wife go through excruciating pain without losing your mind. So… no. You really can't stay."

"I could try…" Sokka whimpered, though Azula laughed beside him.

"It might be good if you leave. You really might be so disgusted by birthing you'll choose not to sleep with me ever again…"

"Okay, now that's even worse than the last one! As if that could ever happen, Azula!"

"Uh, I'm still here, remember? I absolutely don't need to hear you two talk about your sex life, thank you very much," Katara said, with a disgusted twitch of her eyebrow. Azula couldn't help but laugh at her sister-in-law's expression, and Sokka huffed while rolling his eyes at Katara.

"Right, because Azula's about to give birth to our second kid because a spirit somehow induced pregnancy miraculously in her!" Sokka said, smirking sarcastically.

"Eh, if anything the most fun part of pregnancy is the means through which you get knocked up, it's true…" Azula smiled, and Sokka snickered in her direction as Katara shuddered, making exaggerated gagging noises.

She made her way to the nearest window, feigning to puke through it while Sokka and Azula laughed at her dramatic acting. Still, as amusing as Katara's reaction was, they both knew she was only helping them stall, letting them have just another short moment together, if nothing else.

"Well… sounds like I can't convince her, or you, after all. But hey, I'll be standing right outside the door. I'll be so close it'll be as if I'm in here anyway," Sokka declared, pouting a little. Azula laughed and nodded, clasping his hand in hers again.

"Then you'll be within range to hear me scream like a dying ostrich horse once the worst of it begins. Sweet," she said, raising her eyebrows in his direction. Sokka snorted at the comparison she had drawn, shaking his head and kissing her brow.

"Want me to scream right back from the hallway? That way you sure won't feel lonely, not even for a second," he suggested. Despite her nervousness should have been ramping up, Azula couldn't help but laugh, clutching at Sokka with a hand, hoping to keep him close for as long as possible.

"I'm sure everyone will think we're mad… eh, I guess they already think that, actually. And they might be right, since this sounds like a brilliant idea to me. Please, do it," Azula grinned, as Sokka chuckled and pressed many kisses to her face.

"Perfect," he said, just in time for Katara to huff in disbelief.

"Don't you two think birthing is a delicate enough situation to add wild hollering across a door to the mix?" she asked. Sokka bit his lip, deferring to Azula… who offered a simple enough answer to Katara:

"Nah, I think it'll fit just right, if anything," she decided. Despite herself, Katara couldn't help but laugh as Sokka grinned warmly at his wife.

"Take as long as you need to. We'll be patient out there," he said, prodding her nose with his own.

"The next time we see each other… our family will be bigger by one member," Azula smiled, just as sweetly. A blissful laugh left his lips, and his eyes glistened beautifully. Azula couldn't help but wish their next child would have eyes just like his…

"That's right," he said, beaming before reaching to caress Azula's large baby bump. "We'll meet you very soon, buddy. Hold on tight… and please go easy on your mommy, alright? She's done her best to give birth to you safely, so don't give her a lot of trouble, 'kay?"

Azula's eyes were tearful as Sokka leaned close, pressing a kiss to her bump. He had done it often throughout the pregnancy, chatting excitedly to their baby, most often singing praises about Azula that she'd only be able to silence by kissing him fiercely and busying his mouth with something other than talking. He had looked forward to meeting their child for as long as he'd known she was expecting it… and she couldn't wait to see the look on his face, once he entered the room again, to find her holding their newborn baby.

Sokka smiled at her, still caressing her womb before bringing their lips together, offering her his courage, his strength, all the willpower and certainty she had feared she'd lack in such a momentous occasion. It would be hard, she knew, but her heart was set on seeing this through to the end. Birthing was difficult enough, she knew as much by experience… but the other side of it, the joy of holding her own child, could chase away the pain far faster than any medicine or waterbending healing could.

"I love you, Azula," he whispered, once he pulled away from their kiss. "I don't want to leave… but I'll be back as soon as my mean sister allows it. I promise."

"Make sure you get a snack… and go to the bathroom right after you leave now," Azula suggested, and Sokka raised an eyebrow, amused. "It'd suck if… if, by the time this is done, you were halfway through one of your famous potty breaks…"

"Uh, yeah, fair enough, I'll take one of those now," Sokka said, grimacing as Azula laughed. "Take it easy, as much as you can anyway, and breathe just as they told you to. Though, heh, you know how this works better than I do anyway, so I guess my advice is pointless…"

"You just want me to suffer as little as possible, I know," Azula smiled. "It's fine, Sokka. I love you too. By the time the baby's coming I might hate you a little, though, for putting me through this… but by the end I'll be grateful. I promise."

"I sure hope so," Sokka chuckled, kissing her lips once more. "Whatever would I do if my wife and the mother of my children hated me, huh?"

"Oh, please… like that could ever truly happen," Azula teased him. Sokka laughed, and tears blinked in both their eyes as he pressed one more kiss to her lips.

It seemed there could never be enough kisses, enough reassurances that he was here with her, that she would overcome this challenge, like she did… but as Katara guided him to the door – just as her other helpers arrived, too – Sokka's gaze held Azula's own. The truth was that no door, no walls, would ever come between them: their hearts were closely bonded, beating as one, flooding Azula's system with her well-known certainty that no matter the distance, no matter the struggles they faced, Sokka was always with her. She hadn't been alone for years now… and as those gentle blue eyes still gazed upon hers, just before the door closed behind him, Azula knew she never would be. Not as long as the best man she had ever known stood right outside her room, waiting eagerly to return to her side.


	3. Day 3: Arranged marriage - Touch

Dimly lit streets in the dark of the night made for a strange place to meet someone for the first time. Thus, when a young man had appeared suddenly at the carriage stop, the lone young woman waiting there shot him a warning glare immediately: if he dared make a single move out of place, she'd make short work of him immediately.

Yet he appeared to be as anxious as she felt – though she was better at concealing it than he could ever be. He glanced about himself warily before sitting at a fair distance from her, swallowing hard before glancing in her direction. In the cover of darkness, it was hard to make out his finer features, but she had the distinct feeling his skin was darker than hers.

"Hey, uh… this is the carriage stop, right?" he asked, warily. She frowned but nodded slowly. "Oh. Good, then. Uh… do you happen to know how long it takes for a new one to arrive? I mean, just how long do we have to wait here for…?"

"No clue," she said, bluntly. She wasn't interested in holding a conversation… and truthfully, no one had ever heard of common transportation of any sort working on a reliable schedule, to begin with. Odd that this guy seemed to not know that…

"Great," he sighed, but he fell silent then. He made no suspicious moves, said nothing worrisome after that, and so, despite her better judgment, she relaxed a little. Perhaps he truly meant no harm.

Ten minutes of silence later, a slow carriage wheeled into the stop at last. He sighed in relief but then smiled at her, politely.

"Hope you have a nice trip," he said. She raised an eyebrow but nodded in acknowledgement as she stood up…

And just as the carriage's moose lions halted outright, the driver called out:

"Final carriage of the day!"

"E-eh…? Oh, no," she heard the young man say behind her, just as she reached for the carriage's door.

She expected a fight, a forceful demand to be allowed to ride with her… but neither thing arrived. Instead, the young man rose to his feet, casting uncertain glances about himself, as though wondering what other getaway vehicle he might be lucky enough to find at night, if he tried hard enough. She frowned.

"You… you look like you're running," she said, suddenly. He froze in place.

"I'm… not. There's nothing to run from," he blurted out, unable to mask his nervousness. Her analytical frown was trained on his scared visage.

"No?" she said. "So… if I, say, decided to be generous and offered to share the ride with you, you wouldn't accept it because you have nothing to run from?"

"Oh? Y-you'd do that?" he asked, and now his nervousness was accompanied by hopefulness. "Gee, that's… that'd be great. Thanks!"

"I didn't say I was offering it yet," she said, with a teasing smirk. The young man froze in place, blinking blankly.

"You… okay, so you're just messing with me?" he asked, grimacing now.

"I'm still weighing whether you're worth traveling with, for however short a time it might be," she said, raising her eyebrows. He grimaced.

"Well, I'm sure I will be a most forgettable traveling buddy, I promise you won't even remember I'm on the same carriage as you," he said, nodding pompously. "So… please? I do have to get away, you weren't wrong about that…"

"Honesty is a good policy. I wouldn't say the best one, but it's good to know at least one thing about you before letting you share my carriage," she smirked.

"Oi, you two! Are you climbing aboard or not?" asked the driver, glancing back at them with unrestrained irritation.

The young woman sighed and glanced at the stranger before gesturing at the vehicle with her head. He grinned brightly at her… and for a fleeting, strange instant, she couldn't help but think no one had ever smiled at her with such innocence before. Whatever doubts lingered on her mind, that was already one new experience… one thing she might have never had, if not for the freedom she was currently fighting for.

She hoped the softening of her eyes wasn't apparent in the darkness of the night, however. She climbed aboard the carriage and the young man followed, closing the door behind himself. They settled on the same side of the carriage, despite still retaining some distance from each other.

"Where to, then?" the carriage driver asked.

"The bay," she said, not expecting that her companion would speak at the same time as she had:

"The port."

They glanced at each other in astonishment by then, and the carriage driver snorted over the strange coincidence before spurring his moose lions to start their regular trotting.

"You're… heading to the port too?" he asked, dubiously. "Or just to the bay area in general? Weird coincidence, huh? For the two of us to head the same way…"

"You really are running from something, aren't you?" she said. He bit his lip before shooting a wary glance at her.

"And that doesn't seem to bother you in the least. Which makes me wonder if you're running from something too," he said. She blinked blankly before nodding in acknowledgement.

"I guess you can think for yourself just fine, huh?" she said. "Though I'd surmise it's easier to run away when you know the land you're running around like the back of your hand… whereas you, I suspect, have no idea where you are or how anything works. Thus… you're not from around here, are you? You're a foreigner?"

"Uh… sure. And you are from around here," he replied, biting his lip. "Which makes me wonder why you want to run away…"

"Like no one has ever tried to escape from home in the history of mankind," she replied, rolling her eyes, and he chuckled.

"Fair enough," he said. "I guess it sounds pretty stupid to run away when you have no idea where you're going… well, no serious idea, anyway. I've been in the Fire Nation before, don't get me wrong, but not in the mainland. I, uh, had a master in one of the outer islands…"

"A master? Of what?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Swordsmanship," he replied. Her eyes widened.

"Wait… Master Piandao?" she asked. "He agreed to train you?"

"Yeah, believe it or not," he said, grinning. "So, you know, give me a sword and I can be your bodyguard, if you need one. Come to think of it, I could use the coin from a job like that…"

"Fun as the idea may be, I don't exactly have a ton of money on me right now so I couldn't quite afford your salary," she said. "I have enough to pay for this ride, and then…"

"Then?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Then I'll have to save up," she said, simply. "Once I move on further."

"So… do you want to take a ship ride, huh? Is that why you're going to the bay?" he said, with a bright grin. He took her silence as a positive answer. "Great. Maybe we can find a ride together too! I have no idea where to go, so I can tag along with you for as long as you'll have me. Once I reach the Earth Kingdom I'll figure out my bearings properly…"

"Ah?" she watched him intently now, as he offered her a tight-lipped grin. "You're off to the Earth Kingdom, then?"

"For now, yeah. It's just a temporary plan… until I can find someplace else to stay safely," he said, shrugging.

"And you know the Earth Kingdom better than the Fire Nation?" she asked. He smiled and shook his head.

"Nah, not really. I've seen even less of it so far, but with how big it is, tracking someone down over there must be real tough," he said. "I'd say I have a good shot at shaking off pursuit by then."

"You're so set on running… did you kill someone, perhaps?" she asked, smirking. He snorted and shook his head.

"No, no, definitely not," he said. She huffed.

"Heh. That's boring. I'd have rather traveled with a murderous swordsman rather than a plain swordsman…"

"Why?" he exclaimed, still amused. "How is that any better?"

"It's more threatening, is all," she smiled. "Well, either way… I'm thinking we could help each other, to a fault. I know my way through the Fire Nation, I know exactly which ships to stow away on, which islands to stop at…"

"Stow away?" he repeated, blinking blankly.

"Didn't you hear I don't have that much money?" she said.

"Well, yeah… heh. Makes sense," he snickered. "Then we're going to be stowaways?"

"If you truly intend to come with me, yes," she smiled. "Then we can travel together in the Earth Kingdom for as long as it's convenient. If the time comes when our arrangement stops working, we go our separate ways. Easy, right?"

"Sure," he said, grinning. "Though… you really must be running away from something weird too, if you'd rather travel with a murderer who can intimidate people successfully."

"Eh… it just comes in handy, is all," she said. He smiled and shrugged.

"Alright. No need to share anything personal if you don't want to," he said. "Though… we could learn each other's names, right? If nothing else? We'll be traveling together for a while, from the sound of it…"

No, they certainly could not share that. She was fine with traveling with a stranger if that was what she had to do… but not quite as fine with revealing something as damning as her very name. For if he was a foreigner in the Fire Nation, just when a certain diplomatic delegation had traveled there from the Southern Water Tribe, then chances were he was part of that diplomatic delegation… and that'd mean he'd know exactly who she was, as soon as she spoke her name aloud.

The only way out was to lie, of course. And while it was clear he was no good at it, she certainly was far more skilled at that particular art than he was.

"I'm Ming Wei," she said, blurting out the name of one of her school classmates from ages ago. She caught the small twitch of his eyebrows, and she stared at him intently: "You?"

"Uh… Yuro," he said, knowing his hesitation would do nothing to afford believability to his claims. Then again, he had been able to tell her name was a lie, too: she had given it too readily, with a hint of defiance that didn't seem all that necessary when merely giving away a name. Just so, it was obvious she could tell that wasn't his name either.

"Yuro?" she repeated. He grinned and nodded. "Huh. Sounds like the name of a Water Tribe person. You're part of their delegation, then?"

"Uh… yeah. I am," he admitted, averting her gaze. Damn it. Yet he had already admitted he barely knew the Earth Kingdom, feigning to be a citizen of the large continent would've been an even more obvious lie than his fake name already was.

"And you're… running?" she asked.

"Well… yeah. Because you see…" he started, biting his lip before deciding it was all or nothing, at this stage. He had to go all out… otherwise his companion might see through him, turn the carriage around and toss him right back at the Fire Nation Palace's doorstep. "I've been the Southern Water Tribe Prince's bodyguard for ages. That's why I learned with Master Piandao, you see? But he is… an arrogant, annoying, lazy brat I can't stand, you know? I don't want to work for him anymore. So, you know, I thought if I ran away right now, no one would really notice or care: he's got all the Fire Nation's guards now, doesn't he? And he'll probably be able to take some of them back home with him if he wants, once his marriage is finalized…"

"Then… you were just waiting for the chance to get away?" she asked. He nodded promptly: something with that story didn't sit right, but just hearing the Prince was an arrogant, annoying and lazy man had been enough to put a stop to her rational thinking. Oh, she already hadn't wanted her whole life to be chosen for her, those words had merely cemented that belief further.

"Yup. I'm tired of living my life doing what everyone expects of me," he said. "It was as good a chance as any to get away. Maybe my only chance ever."

And perhaps she was too emotionally compromised at this point, for she had sensed no dishonesty in those last words. If anything, all she felt now was empathy… which was rare. She didn't often feel empathetic towards anyone. But that strange swordsman's struggles were far too similar to her own… perhaps too much, but she didn't seem to think of that just yet. It was all too easy to understand chasing for freedom they had been deprived from throughout all their lives…

"And you knew about the delegation, then?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Was it made common knowledge, or…?"

"Well, in high circles, yes," she said, biting her lip. Ugh, why had she gone and said that for? Now he'd assume she was noble… which she was. But the idea was to throw him off… yet, busy as she had been daydreaming about freedom and about having found a kindred spirit, she hadn't focused enough on lying successfully anymore.

"So, you're… highborn? Or you work for them, too?" he guessed. She nodded.

"Work for them, yes. I… was the princess's maid," she whispered. He gasped.

"Oh? You were? Then… you're running for the same reasons I am?" he asked, his voice dubious.

"Something like that," she said, biting her lip. "I just… took advantage of the chaos. Getting away while everyone was riled up over the foreigners was the best chance I was likely to get."

"I see…"

They glanced at each other warily for a moment, suspicion crossing both their eyes… but again, they said nothing. The dim light filtering through the carriage's curtains wasn't enough for them to see each other better, and even if they could, their physical appearances weren't going to suffice in determining whether the other was lying in the exact same way they were…

If that were the case, though… the thought crossed both their minds, and anxiety surged inside them. Wouldn't it be outrageous that they'd run away together if they were, perhaps, running away from each other?

But no, they weren't truly running away from each other. They wanted to run away from letting their families make their choices for them. They were running away from a life of submission and abiding by tradition, from a life of arranged marriages that were only focused on the political advancement of their respective nations… and not in the least on the happiness they might find with their significant other.

So, whoever he was, or whoever she was, they were stuck on the same boat… the same carriage, at the moment, but soon enough it'd be a boat for real. This wasn't about affronting each other, it was about finding freedom, and if they were to find it together, at least they wouldn't have to face their upcoming hardships alone.

"Well… nice traveling with you, Ming Wei," he said, with a friendly smile. Despite everything, she smiled back and nodded.

"And with you, Yuro," she whispered.

The night covered their escape once they reached their destination: they paid the carriage driver quickly and then dashed away through the streets of the bay. He tagged along behind her, shooting wary glances all around them to make sure no one could see them as she determined which cargo ship was the best one to stow away on for their grand escape. Finally, she narrowed down one that appeared safe… and they climbed aboard at haste, hiding amongst crates below deck while waiting for morning to come, and for the ship to start moving.

As much adrenaline as they had at first, it decreased steadily while they waited: morning found them dozing off together in the ship's cargo deck, her head on his shoulder, and his against hers. Even after she woke up anew, she didn't dare move right away: why was his presence, his warmth, so comforting? Was it because he was the first man, outside her relatives, that she had ever allowed herself to touch so carelessly? Naturally, that only made her extra nervous – and then, curiously, he was just as nervous as her when he woke up too, blushing and apologizing profusely for getting closer to her while unconscious. She wondered, briefly, if he was just as sheltered, just as unexperienced with anything outside his family, as she was.

… And again, the likelihood of him being who she thought he was surged. It really might be him. He really might be running away from the same thing she was…

The cargo ship was slow and made several stops through the day: she had chosen one specialized in food trade, however, so they didn't lack for nourishment while they traveled through the Fire Nation's waters, stealing food occasionally from the crates whenever it was safe to do so. Still, whenever the ship stopped, the sailors would enter the lower deck to collect crates and deposit new ones: one time she had clasped her hand over his mouth to silence him as he was in the middle of reciting his favorite types of noodles when she heard the first footsteps coming closer, another time he had to lunge for her, pinning her down on the wooden floorboards just as she was in plain view, ransacking another crate in search of food, just as the sailors brought in a new haul of items. In every case, they knew they should have been affronted by the casual, careless touching between them… and yet their bodies' reactions were as distant from affront and discomfort as could be.

They fielded off each of the sailors' incursions successfully… until the ship stopped for what seemed to be the sixth time of the day. There weren't as many crates left anymore, so the sailors started to look deeper through the cellar… it was obvious this time that no matter how they held their breath or remained perfectly still, they would certainly get caught.

"Check the crates at the far end, Zan. It's gotta be there," said one of the sailors.

He tensed up beside her: they were near the crates they were hiding at. Oh, if that Zan guy caught them, he might turn them in to the authorities if he recognized either of them, and all their intentions of running away would prove futile…

He glanced at her with uncertainty, and she glanced right back, defiantly: she conveyed silently that he should follow her lead. He wasn't sure what that meant until the man was closer yet, enough that his unkempt, sweaty body odor reached them… and then her hands fisted around her traveling companion's shirt, pulling him in for a surprising, ferocious kiss.

And inexperienced, too. Which was fine, for he was just as inexperienced at it, going by how awkwardly his lips shifted against hers, not knowing what he was doing but following fit with her silent demand, as requested.

It was strange at first, but smoother moments later: she wrapped her arms around his neck, hoping to afford further believability to the story she hoped to feed the sailors once they caught them, and to her surprise, he embraced her waist too… even going so far as leaning down on her, pressing her to the floorboards as he grew to understand what he was supposed to do, gradually.

She had been focusing so much on selling their pretense that she had barely noticed it wasn't quite so much of a pretense anymore: this guy was seriously learning how to kiss by kissing her. And she was letting him. In fact, she was learning a thing or two as well.

Her right hand cupped his face, keeping him in place as she wondered if she ought to go further… and then it was his tongue poking her lips softly, so she of course rose up to the occasion. Oh, that wasn't fair, deepening their kiss had only made it even more pleasant… his tongue toyed with hers, swirling with it, rubbing against every place inside her mouth he might be able to reach. Well, damn, if she had thought this would feel so good, she would've likely started doing this with him from the moment they climbed aboard the same carriage…

"Oi! W-what're you two doing down there?!"

Ah. There it was.

Naturally, they were ejected from the ship, and they were left to watch it sail away as dusk settled over their current location. He was aghast over the fluke of their plan, having hoped that playing the eloping lovers convincingly might elicit sympathy from the sailors, but there was none to be found. She told him, however, that he shouldn't worry: it was a perfect opportunity to further mislead anyone who might be pursuing them, she told him as they walked together over the dock, still holding hands to continue furthering the pretense that they were but a couple of young adults who were so enthralled with each other they couldn't stop doing inappropriate things together… a perfect pretense indeed, for this way no one would suspect the truth behind why they were stowing away on ships in the first place. Yet after that kiss, she wasn't all that sure it was only a pretense anymore…

"So… where did they ditch us?" he asked, casting glances at the beautiful island warily. "This looks pretty, but…"

"It's pretty, yes. Ember Island," she said, simply. He raised his eyebrows.

"Do you know this place? Do you have friends here we can stay with, or do you think there are any other ships we can stow away on…?"

"Maybe we should wait a little longer," she said. "We could use a break… and I know how to sneak into the Royal Family's vacation house. We can spend the night there, and if there happens to be any coin stashed away in there, we can actually pay for our passage to the Earth Kingdom, no need to stow away anymore."

"Isn't that risky too, though? If we travel legally and someone links us to the royal families, they could give us away and send us back…" he mumbled with uncertainty. She smirked.

"Not necessarily. They won't really have reason to suspect it in the first place, right, boyfriend?" she said, tugging at his hand. His cheeks heated up and he smiled weakly at her. "We'll try to find casual clothes in the villa, so we look even less suspicious… and then we'll find a small boat, probably manned by commoners with no likely connections to the Fire Nation Royal Family. That way no one will ever guess who we are."

"Sounds fair," he smiled. "Also… we, uh, should practice our cover story some more. Just saying…"

"Should we?" she smirked.

"I have spent all my life devoted to the way of the warrior," he said, playfully pompous. She snickered at his words. "So, uh, I'm not exactly experienced at this sort of thing…?"

"And I've spent my whole life waiting on a pampered princess," she said, raising her eyebrows. "Hence, I'm not experienced either…"

"See? It's only natural that we'd need more practice. It's just to make sure we're perfectly believable," he assured her. She laughed and shook her head.

"As you wish," she said. Truthfully, she wanted to kiss him again. She had never expected that sensation to be addictive… but it truly was.

She led him to the Royal Family's villa, guiding him towards the back of it just as he suggested he could climb the front gates to prove just how strong and manly he was, in order to impress his new "girlfriend". Once she found the secret backdoor, and they were safely inside the house's premises, she suggested he could do it anyway, if he truly had wanted to impress her.

All such playful banter and teasing continued through the evening, and neither one was sure why or how it was so easy to play with each other in this way. They found more than enough money, stashed away in a vault that she opened suspiciously easily, to afford passage to the Earth Kingdom, and they even used some of it to buy some food in the town, eating it together in one of the most lavish rooms within the villa, a comfortable lounge furnished with crimson cushions and couches, so comfortable he seemed tempted to fall asleep on one of them, right then and there.

"You know… for a maid, you have really smooth and pretty hands," he teased her, watching her as he rested on one of the couches. She was fluffing a cushion, which she tossed at him playfully, prompting him to laugh as he caught it in midair.

"I'll have you know, taking care of my appearance and my skin doesn't make me any less hardworking than some fancy warrior boy who took lessons from the most pretentious sword master in the nation," she said, approaching him and pushing the cushion into his chest. He only laughed at her response, reaching out to clasp her shoulders with his hands.

"The most pretentious, you say?" he smirked. "How so? He was always pretty cool…"

"The swords he crafts are the most expensive in the Fire Nation, period," she replied. "Not to mention he has always been known for being awfully picky about his students, choosing only the worthy… and how does he know who's worthy, huh?"

"He's wise and clever, that's how," he grinned. "And see, him being picky is exactly why his swords are that expensive. He had to to live off something other than teaching, don't you think?"

"And what do you think you'll live off of, then, in the Earth Kingdom?" she asked, leaning over his body, with the cushion still between them. "You'll be a sellsword of some sort? A mercenary?"

"Sounds fun," he smirked. "Want to join in? I could teach you to use a sword of your own, if you want to… heck, we should ransack this place for swords, too. I didn't bring one with me when I ran away, but the sooner I get one…"

"I don't think there's weapons in this place," she smiled. "This is, after all, a vacationing spot."

"How careless of the Fire Nation Royal Family to assume they're not going to need swords in their vacationing spot," he declared, smirking haughtily. She snorted and laughed, pressing her face to the cushion. "What if a door lock gets jammed? If you have a sword you can press it right between the wall and the door, and then you're free! See, we all need a sword once in a while…"

"Why didn't you bring one of yours on your trip, then?" she asked. He bit his lip.

"Uuuuh…" he averted his gaze from hers, and she snorted again.

"You can be quite smart sometimes. But then you also stop being all that smart moments later," she grinned. "Strangely… I like it."

"You do, huh? Means you can make fun of me pretty easily," he smirked. "Say, I am enjoying your weight atop me, lady maid, but, um, I just remembered we agreed on practicing our pretense relationship some more…? You know, so it's more believable tomorrow…"

"More believable, huh?" she said, raising her eyebrows. He grinned giddily. "Is that really what this is about? Aren't you just desperate to kiss a woman, now that you had your first taste of it?"

"Well… yes, that's also true," he admitted, shamelessly. She laughed and shook her head.

"At least you're cute. For a Water Tribe guy," she said, haughtily.

"You're cute too. For a Fire Nation girl," he smirked.

She bit her lip before leaning in… and he leaned too, catching her lips with his own. Something told her he had a whole strategy planned, regarding how to kiss her, how to touch her, how to keep her on her toes and overcome her sensually…

And as reckless as it was, she let him.

For he was charming in his own way, why lie? He had already been a remarkably skilled kisser, one who had taken to discovering how to improve his technique to perfection… the expected behavior of a talented swordsman. Everything that might come next should be, she hoped, just as amazing and fun as the heated kissing was, going by how his hands trailed over her hips, tugging at her sash shyly despite his lips were as savage as they dared be…

If she did it, she'd definitely close the door on the future she had been forced into. Oh, perhaps he was indeed who she had grown to suspect he was, and that would be its own kind of trouble… but if he wasn't, this would change her future for good. No more lying about, waiting to be of use for an uncle who thought little of her, Fire Lord as he was. No more spats with a mother who constantly assured her she only wanted what was best to her, and that traditions were what was best, somehow, even traditions she couldn't seem to explain with any reasonable arguments. No more butting heads with a brother who, for all his faults, was still the assigned heir for their father. No more waiting for the perfect opportunity to prove her worth with a father who could only see her as a child to protect. And no more pitying a cousin, heir to the Fire Lord, who had everything he could ever want, except for the one thing she was currently chasing after: the chance to choose for himself who he wanted to be.

For if she was caught with this guy, whoever he was, she would be disowned, tossed aside… and while the loneliness could be hard to bear with, it wouldn't be quite so bad if she was with him. He wanted to go all the way to the Earth Kingdom, didn't he? Why not go with him, to the very ends of the earth if he wished, if it'd mean he'd kiss her just as delectably and deeply, if it'd mean he'd laugh with her as he had so far, if it meant he'd touch her boldly once she tugged her own sash loose, offering him permission to continue onwards, his hand trailing over her abdomen…

It was madness, of course it was. She barely knew him, she was certain she didn't know his real name, and she had no idea if he was actually a dreadful guy who couldn't even clean up after himself, or do menial chores – because, to be fair, neither could she. But something felt so right as she bared herself before him, and as he did the same before her. Something worked, clicked, even if it might have been merely caused by the unabashed enthusiasm of two young people finding and making love for the first time.

Oh, it was so reckless. It was such a bad idea. And yet they went all the way, kissing and holding each other intimately through the night, thrusting away in a wild celebration of freedom, of having chosen for themselves, of having done what they pleased, all consequences be damned…

Such consequences couldn't be all so easily dismissed, of course, when they were startled by strange noises in the Ember Island villa by morning. She rose first, her lower body sore in a strangely pleasant way, and she cast a wary glance in the direction of the door before clasping her companion's bare shoulder.

"Hey. Hey, I think we're not alone anymore," she said. He groaned and blinked himself awake.

"Hmm… you're so pretty…" he smiled groggily. Her cheeks flushed: well, that was a nice enough compliment to wake to, considering it was the first time he'd seen her in proper daylight so far, but she wasn't sure it was the time for it anyway.

"Thanks. Now… we should get dressed," she said, raising her eyebrows. He hummed before he frowned. "There's people nearby. We need to get going, right now."

"Uh… oh damn," he said, biting his lip and sitting up. His hair had been tied in what she had interpreted as a top-knot before… now she could tell, as he pulled it up hastily, that it was actually a wolf's tail. A classic Water Tribe hairstyle… that she had never thought she'd find all that appealing until she saw it in him. Curses, he was far better-looking than she expected him to be, too.

They climbed off the couch, hastily cladding themselves in their traveling clothes. Caught up in their night of passion, she had forgotten her intent to search for casual clothes in the villa's closets, anything they could wear, as long as moths hadn't eaten them away since the family's last visit…

"What do we do?" he said, pulling up his trousers: his bare chest was a delight to gaze upon, too. To think she'd slept with her head perfectly rested on those strong pecs… ugh, whatever came next, whether they were caught or not, she'd find a way to run off with him again. She needed more of him, one night definitely hadn't been enough. "Who do you think is out there…? Does the Royal Family have, uh, hired help that works tending to the house while they're not vacationing? Or…?"

"No, they don't," she answered, coming back to her senses upon hearing his rational words. She had to get dressed fast too, to pull up her hair, and to remember every single hidden passageway within the villa that they might be able to escape through… "I have a plan. It'll be confusing, but you have to follow me."

"No problem. I'll go wherever you take me," he said, winking at her. He ought to stop that, or she'd pin him down and kiss him all over again…

"Well, then…" she said, lowering her voice as she slid her feet into her light shoes…

And then a loud knock on their lounge's door. They both froze in place.

"Are you in there?! Open up, now!"

The voice was familiar, and dread rose inside her gut upon hearing it. Oh, no. Of all people, it was her father who had found her. Curse everything…

"W-what do we do? Are there any ways out of here without going through the door, or…?" her companion asked nervously. She shook her head.

"My plan… we had to go to the corridor to reach the passageway I had in mind. I mean, unless you want us to jump out the window…?" she suggested. He frowned but nodded.

"Cool. It's just a second floor anyway, and if I land right, I won't break a bone. Hopefully. I can catch you down there, once you jump too," he decided, breathing out and stepping towards the window.

But before he could reach it, a clicking sound revealed the locked door had been opened, and the sound of another voice froze him on his tracks, next:

"You'd better not be in there, son, because if I get my hands on you after what you've pulled…!"

Oh, hell. Oh, hell by the thousands. This wasn't good.

The two runaways froze where they were, meeting the glares of the two men who barged into the lounge without missing a beat. A group of soldiers stood in the corridor, and the Fire Nation nobleman who had made his way inside the room ordered them to wait outside: the Water Tribe man beside him, clad in regal clothes, could only be, of course, Chief Hakoda. And the Fire Nation man was none other than the Fire Lord's brother, Prince Ozai.

"Well, well. This is just as bad as we suspected, huh, Ozai?" said the Chief, shaking his head as he glared at the young man by the window, who had lowered his gaze shamefully.

"You… you are in a lot of trouble, young lady," Ozai hissed, pointing at the young woman, who shrank in place. Well, that was a first. She had certainly never made him that angry ever before…

"U-uh, it was my idea!" the young man exclaimed, rushing back to stand before her, gazing pleadingly at the two newcomers. "I bumped into her, in the Palace, and then I asked her to run away with me, and…!"

"And she was stupid enough to go for it?" Ozai growled, still glaring at her. "You disappoint me, child. Is this what I raised you for?"

His words slammed into the young man with the truth he hadn't quite wanted to acknowledge, despite he had known, deep down, that it was the truth indeed.

"Or what I raised you for, Prince Sokka?" Chief Hakoda growled, and this time it was the young woman who shuddered upon hearing those words.

Oh, Prince Sokka. She had sworn herself that she would hate him on sight, and she would've done it for the sake of rebelling, no other reason: she had been against their arranged marriage from the start, appalled by the idea of not being free to make a single important choice in her life… and yet now that she had made that choice, the choice of running away and then giving herself to a stranger, she found she had played into fate's hand with each decision she had made. Curses, but that was embarrassing…

"You two are utterly ridiculous," growled Ozai, shaking his head. "The whole city is a pandemonium, looking for you both! Had Chief Hakoda not offered to search nearby islands, in case you had escaped by sea, you would have caused an even bigger ruckus than you did, Azula! Your uncle is up in arms about this, and you know it!"

"He can be up in arms about whatever he wants. If he wanted an alliance with the Water Tribe that badly, he could've looked for an old maid to marry himself…" she growled, though her words were half-hearted by now. Ozai scoffed.

"You forget your place, Azula," he growled.

"Uh… really, don't blame her, please…" Sokka continued, still trying to spare her of the worst consequences, only for Ozai to turn his wrathful glare on him.

"And you? You decided to seduce your future wife and run away with her, is that what you're trying to convince me of?" Ozai hissed. Sokka gulped and lowered his head. "How much sense does it make?! At the very least you could've found other people to run away with, it's completely absurd that you'd choose to run off with each other!"

"Uh, well, we didn't really know who the other was, so…"

"WHAT?!"

Both fathers shouted at the same time, and Sokka grimaced as he stood between them and Azula. It was bad enough that they hadn't bothered confirming the other's identities, no matter how they suspected them… it was even worse that their fathers would react to it as explosively as they did now.

"Oh, goodness… oh, you know what, Ozai? This… it'll be a funny story to share with everyone else once a few years have come and gone," Hakoda said, patting his shoulder. "Let's just look at it this way, shall we?"

"Only if these two fools go back to the Palace and marry each other as they were meant to. Curses, couldn't you wait one week? One week?" he hissed. "It's not much to ask, or were you truly that keen on getting in each other's pants?"

"N-no! Seriously, we didn't know who the other was!" Sokka said, blushing.

"Speak for yourself. I had the feeling it was you all along," Azula sighed. Sokka huffed, turning to pout at her.

"Well, I had the feeling it was you too, but I couldn't know for sure and neither could you!" he squeaked. "Though, I mean… we were running away from each other and ended up running together? I guess? Though, in a sense, we kind of, somewhat, did choose each other, in the end…?"

Well, that couldn't be denied. None of what she'd done since she had met him, two nights ago, had been forced on either of them. They had chosen it all, jumping headfirst into their adventure, wondering just how far they could go together until their respective families caught with them. And while she didn't look forward to moving to the South Pole, to live her life alongside the Chief's heir and spend her days amongst them as a reminder of the alliance between their people and hers, the knowledge that she had found him appealing, interesting and worth running away with before confirming who he was proved to be enough to make the situation slightly less unpleasant… at least, for now.

If things took a turn for the worse, she could always run away, too. But as she gazed at the young man before her, she had the feeling she'd be running with him, wherever she went next.

And that idea didn't bother her in the least, truthfully.

"I guess so," she said, breathing out slowly. "I certainly could do worse, husband-wise…"

"Heh. I'd definitely do worse, wife-wise, if I picked anyone else," Sokka smirked, and she smiled right back.

"Ew," Ozai said, blinking blankly as he averted his gaze from his daughter and her finally accepted destiny.

"Oh, I know she's your daughter, and you didn't want to give her away to anyone, Ozai…" Hakoda laughed, patting his back. "But hey, looks like they gave up! I thought they never would."

"We're going back to the Palace now. And the two of you are going to spend the night in different rooms until your ceremony is done. That's final," Ozai huffed. "Whatever you do after you're married… is your business."

He still shuddered after saying those words, no doubt unwilling to picture whatever two young adults, who were boldly flirt in front of their fathers, might get up to behind closed doors. He had no delusions regarding what had surely transpired in this very room merely a few hours ago…

"Get ready, then. You have five minutes to pick up whatever you've left lying about," Hakoda said. "And don't even think about doing anything crazy, now! There are soldiers all over this property, so you'd better not even consider running away again."

"Say, how did you find us so fast?" Azula asked him. Hakoda grinned and shrugged.

"Water Tribe longboats: not quite as sturdy as your nation's steel ships, but a thousand times faster, I'd say," he snickered. Ozai shot him a disbelieving glare. "By which I mean… I sent all my available ships out to look for you in every nearby island. Your mothers went to Fire Fountain City, Prince Lu Ten accompanied my advisor Bato to Shu Jing…"

"So, it's basically chance that you two decided to come to Ember Island?" Sokka groaned.

"Something like that," Hakoda grinned. "Truthfully, Ozai had a feeling you might have wound up here. He says this has always been a happy place for your family, after all."

He glanced at Azula as he spoke, offering her another proud grin before turning around, clasping Ozai's shoulder and dragging him out of the room. Despite Hakoda's grip was strong, Ozai's head poked through the doorway one more time.

"You have five minutes! Don't you dare do anything further to despoil my daughter's dignity, Prince Sokka!"

"I wouldn't, I wouldn't!" Sokka squeaked nervously, before Hakoda successfully dragged Ozai away.

Sokka sighed, slumping in place before rising back to his full height, smiling awkwardly at Azula. She bit her lip as she gazed at him: he was tall, well-built, and indeed, ridiculously handsome. He was fun to talk to, and he seemed to enjoy kissing her just as much as she had enjoyed kissing him. It was all far too perfect… and who was she to reject perfection when it fell upon her lap as it had this time?

"Is… is your hometown a good place?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow. "It's only… well, I'm a firebender. I don't really know if I'd deal with the cold well. And I know there's been a lot of conflict between our nations, back from the times of the war…"

"That's all water under the bridge at this point," Sokka grinned, "People down there have taken quite the liking to your dad, you know? Because he helped stop the war. I guess that's why I wasn't completely sure about running away, but… it didn't feel right to marry my dad's best friend's daughter just because they felt like setting us up together to strengthen the ties between our nations. I did want to have a chance to choose for myself… otherwise, it feels like they won the war for nothing, to a fault? They set the Avatar free from the iceberg and beat your grandfather, yet the next generation is still expected to do whatever's convenient for political alliances? Granted, things have gotten better for the common folk… but I don't see why people like you or me should be forced to do anything we don't want to."

"Do you still not want it?" she asked. It was his turn to bite his lip before shaking his head.

"I… may have had a change of mind. Though, you know, I would've liked to woo you properly. You know, taking you out on a date, introducing you to my family, like normal people do…"

"I think the last two days could count as a date," Azula smirked. "And… I just met your dad. So I'd hope that counts, to a fault."

Sokka laughed and shrugged, stepping closer to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. Her smile softened as she gazed into those handsome features… oh, she was lucky. She couldn't believe it, but she was absolutely, truly, lucky.

"Do you want to marry me, then?" he asked, his voice small. "I doubt I'm the greatest guy there is, but… I'll be the best husband I can be. If you'll have me."

"I'm not the greatest girl there is either, I literally took you on a trip as stowaways and we stole quite a bit of food from their crates, too. I've turned us both into criminals, haven't I?" she smiled. Sokka chuckled, pressing his forehead to hers. "But… I'll be the best wife I can be, too. Even if an icy pole isn't fun to live in."

"We can take trips to warmer places whenever the cold becomes too much to take," he suggested. "Though there's a few things we can do to warm you up while we're there, too…"

"Oh? Like what?" she asked, teasingly.

Sokka chuckled and leaned in, kissing her again, and once more it was delightful, as jolts of electricity seemed to flow between them. Well, they had resisted the match at first, but it seemed their parents had made the right choice after all. They had been ready to run off together, to live together, to fight together… and now they could do all those things, without having to run away at all. It was the perfect arrangement. Too perfect, perhaps. But who were they to turn down perfection?

Hakoda had to yank Ozai back once they returned to the lounge to find their children locked in a slightly intimate embrace, once the five minutes were done. Of course, the firebender would see red upon witnessing his favorite child, the daughter he treasured, exchanging saliva quite so enthusiastically with his future son-in-law…

"Come on, we knew this would happen, we did. That's the entire reason we let them run off, damn you, stop acting like an angry rhino-bull," Hakoda said, clasping Ozai's shirt's collar and dragging him away from the lounge. Ozai huffed, shaking his head.

"I told you it was a bad idea. I did! Leaving them unguarded so they'd run off together…?" he growled.

"And paying a carriage driver to pick them up after the last carriage was long gone, too," Hakoda grinned. "It was the perfect strategy."

"Up until the point where you didn't have any means to track them down after they stowed away as they did!" Ozai hissed. Hakoda grimaced.

"Well, that was a minor detail, but you figured out this was where they'd head, so no need to make a fuss about my oversight, right?"

"You haven't changed in the least since the war, Hakoda. Not even a little bit. Always with the outlandish plans and ridiculous ideas…"

"Heeeey! Those plans saved our asses, and Aang's, a thousand times! As did my jokes, I'll add…"

"Your jokes? Perhaps it's you who are a joke, Chief Hakoda, altogether…"

"Well now, I'm the joke? Say, who's the one who can't stop throwing hissy fits about his daughter making out with her future husband, huh?"

Ozai growled, covering his face in his hands as the image returned to his mind. Hakoda beamed brightly upon silencing his friend successfully: he had maintained correspondence with Ozai long after the war had ended, they had met up on occasion since then, too. When Fire Lord Iroh, advised by Avatar Aang, had determined that preserving balance ought to be aided by crafting alliances between nations, he had wondered if perhaps a convenient marriage between his son and Ozai's daughter would do the trick. They were both clever since childhood, talented fighters, prone to witty banter that their respective siblings couldn't keep up with… it was, as far as Hakoda could tell, an ideal match. But how to convince them of it?

The idea of allowing their strong-willed children to escape, while subtly directing them towards each other, had come to mind three nights before the Water Tribe delegation arrived in the Fire Nation Capital. Ozai had been horrified by the idea… and more horrified upon realizing Hakoda had set everything in motion long before he could do anything about it. In the end, they had no choice but to wait and hope that Hakoda's insight would have been accurate, and that their children wouldn't despise each other instead of falling in love, as he had hoped they would.

And by now, while walking away from the room where the two soon-to-be spouses continued to profess their growing affections for each other, Hakoda could only grin proudly: Ozai's bad mood notwithstanding, his plan had been an absolute success.


	4. Day 4: Lost in a Forest and Feelings

Trudging through the thick trees, staring at that broad, strong back, Azula couldn't quite keep at bay her suspicions that, regardless of her stubborn companion's claims of the opposite, they were lost in the woods, with no salvation in sight.

He wasn't a woodlands savage, she'd told him, he was a snow savage: she'd believe him if he said they weren't lost while they traversed a large, frozen continent, but she wouldn't quite be so lenient if he said the same while in a forest, of all places. And of course, there was no chance they'd find his missing sword in a large, frozen continent unless someone had already retrieved it from these woods and taken it there, for whatever reason.

Not for the first time, she asked herself why she had bothered coming along for what everyone, even her brother, had deemed a pointless, doomed enterprise. Guilty as she appeared to feel about the matter, Toph had been far too busy with her budding police department in Republic City to join Sokka's quest. Aang was ever ferried from one end of the world to the next by his Avatar duties, and Katara had to cover for him in the city while he was gone: Zuko, of course, was the Fire Lord, and there was no chance he'd take any sorts of flights of fancy and disregard his duty to his nation just on a personal trip that might yield no results… well, that is, if the trip was for a friend's sake rather than his own, Azula had interjected, and her reminder of how he had been perfectly willing to leave their nation in their uncle's most undependable hands while they searched for their mother had been as unwelcome as she could have expected.

All in all, she had meant to offer some moral support to the tall Water Tribe man by cutting down Zuko's excuses and dismissive attitude towards Sokka's plight… but nothing she said seemed to work. Sokka kept looking at her with those dead-like eyes that only convinced her that she wanted to be dead, too. She wondered, truly, if he was different while she wasn't around. If he was happier, cheerful, relaxed… rather than miserable, awkward and tense. If so… why had she even bothered coming along for this trip? Was it merely pity over how he'd sworn he'd go alone if no one wanted to give him a hand? If so, it was no true wonder he had been so aloof and irritated so far, for no man as proud as him would ever accept pity and charity without consequence.

Yet she had decided to come along indeed. And now, it seemed, she reaped what she had sowed, in more ways than she had expected to: it wasn't merely that she was uncomfortable about hiking through nature this far from civilization – she found herself missing the train-tank, with which she had traversed large territories of the Earth Kingdom in the past without the slightest inconvenience –, but Sokka wouldn't travel on the vehicle, not when their mission was explicitly about rummaging throughout Wulong Forest until they finally came across his beloved Space Sword.

Her strained muscles had seen plenty of exercise over the ten years that had passed since the end of the war, but not quite in this manner: she forced herself to walk behind him, keeping up with his pace as best she could, until at last that strong back, that at this point was nearly a beacon in the darkening forest, slowed to a halt as Sokka assessed his surroundings in a clearing within the woods. Azula damn near bumped into him, but she managed to stop right behind him anyway.

"Seems like a good place to camp for the night," he announced. "It's getting too dark to keep going anyhow."

"Just how much further are we supposed to go, anyway?" Azula asked, as Sokka approached the larger tree in the clearing, setting down his bags at its foot. "Have you narrowed down the searching area at all, or are we merely going blind all across Wulong Forest…?"

"I've narrowed some of it down, yeah," Sokka huffed, opening his pack to show her a map he had brought with him. "We'll search thoroughly throughout the area once we get there. But we're still too far north to be near Space Sword's location."

"Of course," Azula sighed, setting down her own bags next to his. "You do realize this might be a longer venture than you hoped?"

"Why would it be? Your brains and mine, together? Who's ever going to stop us, huh?" Sokka said, though there was no humor in his tone upon uttering those questions.

Azula tensed up beside him as he rose fully to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. What was he thinking? Why had he spoken as he had just now? Yes, it was a certainty that they were smarter than most people, and joining forces might just be enough for them to find his sword… but it didn't seem he was all that pleased for it anyway. She let herself wonder, briefly, if he wished they wouldn't find the sword all that fast so they could spend more time together… did he begrudge their intelligence for such a fickle reason?

Oh, what nonsense. Of course that wasn't it. She was a fool to so much as indulge in such a possibility.

"I think I see some water beyond these trees," Sokka said, gesturing at the cluster of vegetation behind the tree they had stopped at. "Could be we can wash up there. It's one of the reasons I thought we should slow down here for the night…"

"Ah. So, we truly aren't lost in this forest, are we?" Azula asked. Sokka tensed up. "You knew there was a river up there?"

"Uh… well, I didn't know, I just decided we'd stop at the first place with water we came across once it was sunset," he said. Azula huffed.

"So we are lost."

"I didn't say that!" he squeaked.

Despite herself, Azula smiled. Eliciting such silly reactions from him was strange, but very welcome. It almost felt as though she hadn't pushed him away when she had… as though things could go back to the way they once had been.

"Ugh, anyway, you can go clean up if you want, I know all that dirt and sweat must make you uncomfortable," Sokka said, waving a hand towards her. "I'll set up my tent in the meantime. If you need help with yours, I can give you a hand after I clean up too…"

"Why would I need help?" Azula said, raising her eyebrows dismissively. "I'm perfectly capable of assembling a tent by myself."

"I didn't say you weren't," Sokka raised his hands defensively before starting to rummage through his bag for the implements he'd need for his tent.

His tone was disappointingly non-confrontational. Just after giving her hope, he took it away: she had expected a whole throwdown about how there was nothing wrong with asking people for help, or how he was sure she was a pampered princess who had never had to do anything mundane for herself… but nothing. He had shut down yet another possible conversation, and she was left high and dry, waiting for nothing.

"If that's how it is, then… yes, I'll go clean up," Azula declared, attempting to hide how disappointing his response had been. "Make sure not to peek, alright?"

"Nothing new under the sun there, is there?" Sokka said. Azula froze. "You have nothing to worry about, I won't do that, I'll only go after you're finished. Ten minutes will probably be enough."

"You know just how long I spend bathing, then?" Azula nearly hissed by now. Sokka shrugged.

"I remember, is all," he said. "Ten minutes might even be too much in these circumstances, I'd say…"

"I'll take as long as I please, thank you very much," Azula scowled, searching her own bags for a change of clothes. Suddenly, the last thing she wanted was to hold a conversation despite having spent the whole day fishing for one.

"I'll go after I'm finished setting up my tent, then," Sokka said. "And if you're not out yet, don't worry. I'm not going to look anyway."

She snapped her tongue before storming off without another word. Well, that was his loss, if so.

The words rang hollow in her mind as she walked thoughtlessly towards the water source… a lake, not a river, as she discovered upon reaching it. She wasted little time disrobing, despite she was far from accustomed to loosening her clothing in the middle of nature as she just had. But with a mind as troubled as hers, sometimes even the notions of dignity and pride went forgotten once she had something else to worry about.

No, truthfully, it wasn't his loss. It never had been his loss. He was as good as the perfect guy, without embodying some impossible, unreasonable ideal: Sokka had been kind, thoughtful, intelligent, unyielding… he was the perfect rival for her many instincts and impulses. Just so, each of those factors drew her to him in ways they shouldn't have… but the one thing that drew her most was his honesty. So many people were capable of lying to her face, they'd done it for years, without her awareness… others lied far less effectively, pretending to care about her, but she could tell, by their actions, by their behavior, that they were merely telling themselves as much, to chase away their own guilt about having abandoned her when she had needed them most. She couldn't trust anyone, that was what she'd told herself…

And yet, against all common sense, she had grown to trust him. Upon scheming a mischievous prank to torment her brother – her special kind of birthday present, as she'd thought of it at the time –, she found her plan had overlapped with his: in the end, they joined forces and Zuko had quite an unforgettable day chasing off turtle ducks in the Palace, and tripping over the droppings they had left all over the place while panicking while attempting to find their way out of the building. From that day forward, they had been allies, messing with their friends and family whenever the chance arose, not realizing they were drifting together in more ways than they'd originally planned…

She never did expect to wake up in his bed one day, and she suspected he never expected that, either. She kept her distance for a few days afterwards, and he didn't complain… which bothered her, of course. Upon cornering him for answers, he admitted he wouldn't push her for more than they'd had, considering she ran away from his bedroom even before he woke up. He had assumed it was a one-night-stand for her… and he had teasingly remarked that he wouldn't mind if she decided to make it a two-night-stand instead.

That number, of course, only continued to increase upon each of their encounters. Every time he paid a visit to the Fire Nation, on any official business, she'd find a chance to sneak into his room, or to drag him into hers, and they would both be in the highest spirits on the next day, trading silent smirks whenever they crossed paths again. For a time, Azula had thought this was the greatest of all pranks they had pulled so far, for her whole family, and his, would be so appalled to discover what they'd been up to in secret…

… Until one night, as he laid in bed behind her, arms wrapped around her waist, he had uttered words that shattered her whole world in a single instant:

"I love you."

She thought to pretend she was asleep, though her eyes were still open, and she knew he could see it. He sensed her breath hitching too, her heartbeats picking up speed… there was no way she could pretend she hadn't heard him. And yet, as he nestled behind her, fingers caressing her hair, she couldn't bring herself to answer. She couldn't say the words that were crossing her mind… because there was only one word, truthfully. And that word was simply: why?

Why would he love her? Why would he admit that he loved her? Why would he even think it was a good idea to say such words to her? Why on earth had he decided to say it right then and there? Why, why, why…?

And yet she knew she couldn't say any of what she was thinking. She didn't dare. She didn't truly want to hear his answers to those questions.

For he was honest, yes, that was the first thing she had known she liked about him. He wasn't the type to lie, whether to spare her feelings or his own. He hadn't said those words on a whim: he had likely carried them inside him for ages, blurting them out as he had, unthinking, because he couldn't contain the emotions anymore. And yet… she couldn't accept it. She simply couldn't accept it.

Instead of lying quietly there, of staying put in his bed, silently enduring the panic attack his words had triggered in her, she sat up and left. She avoided him for the rest of his visit, pointedly… and she didn't even say goodbye, when he finally left.

She needed time. That was it, she guessed: time to process his affections, time to understand how on earth he had ever reached such levels of devotion towards her. And she should have simply told him that, right? And yet how on earth does someone answer an "I love you" with "Give me time to think about it"? She didn't dare do that. And yet perhaps, if she had dared, he wouldn't have been hurt. It was almost a whole year before he returned to the Fire Nation again, and when he did, he scarcely spared her a few glances. She had sent him no letters while he was away, and he had sent her none either. Was he confused? Was he angry? Was he depressed? She couldn't tell anymore. All she could tell, however, was that he seemed to have decided he wouldn't dwell on the past anymore, and he wouldn't indulge in any hopes that something genuine could come from their casual relationship.

She had tried to interpret that as a sign to move on and forget about him. Perhaps he truly hadn't loved her at all – not that she had truly believed he could have loved her, she believed he THOUGHT he did, but she was quite certain that was, all in all, implausible on every possible level. So she had decided to shake it all off, to continue with her life… and yet it wasn't easy to do so. They had met a few more times since then, and every cold shoulder, every dismissive word, every plain interaction between them, with no hint of the old affection he used to line his words with, had felt like a frozen dagger digging deeper through her heart.

And that was, ultimately, why she had offered to travel with him to retrieve his sword. It was a strange way to attempt to mend fences, she knew… but she hadn't known what else to do to stop the pain she felt when she saw him. She hadn't known how else to tear down the walls that he had built between them… walls she had as good as asked him to build, in the first place.

Suffice to say, it wasn't going as she had planned, not in the least. She had hoped to entice him, perhaps… but he seemed to be completely invulnerable to her charms by now. He knew all her tricks, and was utterly unwilling to fall for any of them. Had she really pushed him away that hard, that violently…? Or was it, perhaps, that he had already found someone else? Maybe that was it, and she was wasting her time here…

"If so, why isn't he here with his new girlfriend instead of me?" Azula reasoned out loud, just before dipping one toe in what turned out to be a near-freezing lake. She snarled before raising her hands, quickly warming the water with her bending.

She managed to warm the water she would use, spreading the heat through the small lake until she found a comfortable enough spot, with her torso still above water. He wasn't wrong, she didn't quite enjoy all the dirt that clung to her after their whole day of hiking in this forest from the city of Garsai… but that he dared even comment on how long she usually bathed had surprised her. It was the first time he had acknowledged their relationship in any way, if just by admitting he knew Azula a little more intimately than anyone else was aware. Fool that she was, she had wistfully wondered if perhaps it meant he wasn't that unwilling to return to what they'd had… then he had shut everything down all the same, no thanks to her foolish responses.

She had no patience for these matters. She was far from the most sociable person there was, to begin with, and she was more than a bit tired of chasing after him, when every passing day further convinced her that he wanted nothing from her anymore. It was outrageous, though, wasn't it? If he truly had loved her at all, which no, she didn't think he had, why would he begrudge her for not saying the daft words right back at him? She was far from a connoisseur on the matter, but conditioned love didn't appear to be true love at all. Her relationship with her father was supposed to be the clearest example of that, or so every damn expert at that wretched asylum had insisted on drilling into her head until she had begrudgingly accepted it as a reality.

So, as far as she could tell, he was a selfish hypocrite, and he was trying to guilt her into loving him. Ha! That was utterly stupid, and he was playing a losing game, if so. He prized honesty as much as he did, didn't he? Why would she bother lying to his face to make him feel better? He would know it was a lie immediately, so he'd only grow more frustrated with her if she played the mild-mannered, sweet girl who could become a housewife and live happily that way, if only to spare his thrice-accursed feelings…

Caught in her thoughts, she often forgot to warm the water again, and in the process of overthinking and warming the water, she had damn near forgotten, too, what she was supposed to be doing in this damn lake in the first place. She returned to shore, gathered some soap, and traversed the lake to the spot she had liked once again… only to hear rustling of tree leaves that indicated someone was approaching.

She almost wished it were a wild animal, then she could have merely set it ablaze and been done with it… but upon quickly turning her head around, she found, of course, that it was him. Sokka glanced at her but raised his hands defensively before turning around. Azula gritted her teeth and tore her eyes away from him too, knowing he was disrobing… knowing she wanted to see it happen, too. Curse him for being such a sensitive idiot…

Or was she the sensitive idiot, instead? She hadn't known for sure who was at fault back then, and she didn't have any clarity on the matter now, either.

She heard him slipping inside the water, and she only endeavored to continue rubbing the soap over her arms and torso, pointedly ignoring the urge to glance at the body she had grown used to caressing and gazing upon for as long as their dalliance had lasted… just how long had it been, really? She barely knew anymore. A little more than a year, maybe? Who the hell said "I love you" within less than a year of secretly dating someone, if what they were doing could amount to dating?

Ugh, well, how was she supposed to know that, truly? Mai had outright spat to her face that she loved Zuko more than she feared Azula, and those two had only been together for months at the time… had she told Zuko she loved him, directly, by then? Maybe she had. Such nonsense…

"You sure take your time bathing out in nature, huh?" he said suddenly, startling her. "Didn't take you for the type to be that bold when the whole world could see you…"

"Bold? Hardly," Azula rebuffed, and she chided her own heart for beating that fast upon being addressed by him again. What nonsense was that, too? "I'm taking my time because we were quite filthy after a whole day of hiking, don't you think?"

"Fair enough… though the water's colder than I'd think you'd be comfortable with," he said. "Though… heh. You're warming it up, aren't you?"

"Sharp as ever, I see," Azula said, rinsing off the soap already. Sokka chuckled.

"And you're either being sarcastic, which is just like you, or you're being flattering, which… is new. Just as taking baths that last longer than ten minutes would be new for you."

"You're awfully hung on that matter, aren't you?" Azula asked, rolling her eyes. "I'm pretty sure I've taken longer baths than that…"

"Sure you did. When you took them with me."

His words froze her anew. Again, that stupid, weaseling hope, needling through her body like a snake, seeking to dig its fangs into her damn heart… poisoned fangs, as far as she could tell. He had to stop it. He really did. At this rate they'd end up having the argument of the century, and she wasn't sure she cared to endure that, not when she was miles away from civilization with only him for company…

She'd tell him not to do that anymore, then. She would. She wasn't sure their conversation wouldn't escalate into an argument even if she said so, but if she spoke earnestly, surely he'd back off…?

She turned her head towards him, finding he stood about fifteen feet away from her. Again, that strong, muscular back was the sight that greeted her, and oh, what a sight it was…

But before she could utter a single word, a most unwanted, unfamiliar and distressing sensation on her arm stopped her from speaking.

She had no idea what it was at first, but it was uncomfortable from the first instant: something had latched onto her skin, tugging at it, as though sucking it… and her immediate instinct was to trash the affected arm into the water, instinctively panicking and seeking to get rid of whatever this strange offender was.

Only upon shaking her arm did she identify whatever clung to her arm as a purple, round being… a living being: there was an animal stuck to her arm.

"What's…?! Oh, no, no, get off me!"

She pushed it, smacked it, attempted to force it to loosen its grip on her skin, and yet it seemed her every violent reaction only compelled it to cling tighter. Curses, was it some sort of leech? Was it clinging to her now, only to stick some poisonous, murderous sting into her body…? Her eyes widened at the possibility, and she slammed it harder into the water, to no results.

"Go away, go away, you stupid, damned…!"

"Woah, Azula, what's going on?" Sokka called to her. Her first shouts had been alarming enough, but he had briefly taken her silence to mean she had dealt with the problem… apparently not, though.

"It's nothing, it's…! Shit, what is this?! Get off me, damn it, go away already!"

"Ugh, okay, you know what? I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on, and I think I need to," Sokka sighed, turning towards her. "I promise I'm not doing this to peek, just to help…!"

"W-well then, help! Find your damn sword and slice this wretched thing off me!" Azula almost shrieked, turning towards him and gesturing at him with her afflicted arm.

Yet to her surprise, there was no sign of urgency in Sokka's face when he identified the creature on Azula's arm. She damn near snapped at him for being so nonchalant when, for all she knew, her very life could be in danger… yet he surprised her by wading towards her and reaching for the creature.

"What are you…?" she asked, nervously, until her nervousness was replaced by sheer outrage… when Sokka scratched the strange, purple being's head. "Are you kidding me?! What are you doing?! Do you hate me so much you're congratulating the damn thing for…?!"

Sokka's deadpan stare didn't change in the least when the creature's five, flat tentacles released Azula suddenly. Her eyes widened as she stared at it, and Sokka snatched the creature off her body, showing it to her deliberately.

"This, Princess, is a pentapus," he stated. "And that's how you get rid of them. It's as simple as that."

Oh, to hell with it. Her outburst had been more than unwarranted, if the solution was truly that easy… and now she felt utterly idiotic for it, which she had no doubt her blush was transmitting to Sokka. She didn't even dare meet his eyes… hence, she was surprised upon hearing him laugh softly.

"Don't feel that bad, Azula. I reacted the same way when they stuck to me the first time, too," he said. "And it was way worse than this, if I may…"

"Worse?" Azula repeated. Sokka nodded solemnly.

"You know, a story worthy of a savage like me, of the sorts you love to make fun of me for," Sokka grinned. She had dared gaze up at him, and that he'd smile genuinely at her was… well, not unpleasant. For once. "It happened… in a sewer, of all places."

"In a… a sewer?" Azula asked, grimacing as Sokka chuckled, shaking his head.

"My dear sister and her beloved Avatar… those two jerks took to diverting the waste off themselves with their bending. And who's the guy who couldn't possibly get away with doing the same thing? That's right, the stellar non-bender who took all that… literal shit, straight to the face, in many cases."

"That's… ugh, that's so gross, Sokka!" Azula exclaimed, horrified as he laughed carelessly.

"It's okay, I've cleaned up many times since then, you don't have to worry that the gross waste still clings to me somehow…" he smiled. "Took me about ten rounds of proper soap as soon as I had a chance to clean up to get rid of the stench, but it worked in the end. No need to be too grossed out anymore."

"I only hope now that your creepy story is no sign of… well, of this lake being less pure than we expected it to be," Azula said, eyeing the waters warily. Sokka chuckled and shook his head.

"It's a bit too dark already to tell, but hey, this place is in the middle of a forest and it doesn't reek of waste… so it might not be that bad, huh?"

Azula gazed at him wistfully, at that smile… it was charming, she knew that from the start. She liked him well enough serious and brooding, there was more than enough charm in that too… but that smile. The chance to make him happy, even if just by being foolish, careless and clumsy, was a surprising blessing… one that now soothed her heart despite she had been troubled and anguished mere moments before he entered the water too. To think such a small, simple creature could have served as a harbinger of harmony between them… though, again, she shouldn't get her hopes up. That wouldn't be a good idea, no matter what…

"You're all done washing now, though?" Sokka asked. Azula snapped back to her senses upon those words. "If so…"

"I'll go fix my tent, yeah," Azula said, though Sokka bit his lip.

"I was actually going to ask if… if you could do me a favor," he blurted out. Azula frowned.

"A favor?" she asked.

"Well… the water's kind of chilly," he smiled awkwardly. "Can you, maybe, warm it up a little further? I mean, I would've asked all along if I'd thought we could just bathe at the same time without consequence, but I figured you wouldn't want that, so…"

"I wouldn't want that…?" she asked again. Sokka shrugged.

"You did tell me not to peek," he said. "I said there was likely nothing new for me to see, but if you didn't want me looking at you, I wasn't going to bother you…"

"That's… that's what you meant?" Azula asked, surprised. Sokka nodded.

"Why? What else did you think I meant?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Azula opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. She was such an idiot when it came to this sort of thing, oh, she really was, and yet… how to speak at all? How to tell him that she kept saying things she didn't mean only to elicit reactions from people? But where she had once been able to read him like a book, now he was undecipherable to her…

The silence between them continued… until suddenly Sokka flinched, turning his head, hopelessly glancing at his back.

"Uh… crap. Oh crap. Azula? Is there a pentapus on my back too?" he asked, spinning in circles as he struggled to glimpse the creature. Azula blinked blankly before shaking her head rapidly.

"S-stop moving around, I can't get it if there is one!" she said, grabbing his flanks to stop him… and trying not to think of the implications of touching him. No, that was best stashed on her mind for later.

The pentapus was on his lower back: she nudged it with her finger at first, sighing before settling for caressing it properly instead… and then she felt another set of such tentacles around her ankle. Startled, she fell into the water when she lost balance, and that could only be bad news for her…

Sokka clasped her wrist and pulled her to him: their bodies slapped together, not with the erotic intent with which they had been in contact in the past, especially while naked. And while the thought crossed Azula's mind, it was but a fleeting thought nonetheless: Sokka's hands relocated to her shoulders, though he kept her close all the same.

"Did another one get you?" he asked. Azula grimaced and nodded.

"It's on my ankle," she said. Sokka huffed.

"Maybe we should just get out of the water, get rid of them on land," he suggested, before flinching. "Ack, another on the back of my knee and… woah, that's dirty! It's on my asscheek!"

Despite her own discomfort, that final claim of Sokka's caused Azula to burst into laughter as they stumbled towards the lake's shore together, squirming at the discomfort of the tentacles that stuck to their bodies, and wincing every time a new one caught either of their legs.

"Okay, okay! We're going to get rid of them all, one by one!" Sokka squeaked, once they reached the shore indeed: Azula had two more in one calf, and she grimaced while raising her leg, but Sokka pulled it towards him without even asking: he rubbed the two small pentapi until they detached, and then he cast them powerfully towards the lake, prompting Azula to chuckle at his powerful heave. "That's what you get! You can't touch a lady without permission, damn pentapus!"

"You didn't exactly ask for permission either, did you?" she smiled. Sokka blinked blankly and smiled guiltily at her.

"I figured, since it's an emergency…?"

That Azula was amused by the situation seemed to have defused some of their lingering tension: she reached for the pentapus that clung to his rear, and Sokka grimaced as Azula succeeded at pulling it off his body. He continued working with hers too, ridding her of the pentapus on her ankle, and Azula did away with the one behind the knee he couldn't flex anymore because of it. It was a gradual process, and one that forced them to reacquaint with each other's body in a less intimate manner than intended… and yet it felt intimate in its own way too.

"Is that all of them?" Sokka asked her, after removing the final one that had latched to her upper thigh. "None got your ass, did they?"

"You'd rather they had?" Azula asked, amused.

"I didn't say that, but… I wouldn't have minded too much, is all," Sokka smirked a little, more shameless than he had allowed himself to be for a long time.

"How about you?" Azula asked, biting her lip as she gazed upon his body, trying to focus on the task at hand, on the many strings of concentric red dots over his skin now, especially in his lower body's area. "Anything I missed?"

"I think not?" Sokka said, glancing about himself with uncertainty. "Though now we look like we've got pentapox, heh. Did I ever tell you about that? How we got all the people out of Omashu…?"

"You… didn't tell me, no," Azula said, staring at him keenly through narrow eyes. Sokka chuckled and shrugged.

"I got the idea of using a fake disease to pretend there was an outbreak in the city," he said. "It happened after the pentapi got me in the sewers, the Fire Nation soldiers thought who caught us in the city thought I was sick, Katara told them I had pentapox, and they panicked… and then, when we met up with Bumi's resistance, they had no idea how to get out of the city and I suggested they used pentapox as an excuse: the soldiers panicked about the outbreak and let everyone go, and they were free from Fire Nation tyranny for it."

"You… are either an idiot or a genius," Azula said, smiling and shaking her head. Sokka huffed, raising his head haughtily.

"Wrong, Princess, for if other people's perception of me is to be accounted for, I'm actually both things at the same time," he declared, prompting her to laugh, despite herself.

"I gave Ukano such a hard time for that foolishness," Azula acknowledged. "Now I can see I was right to do so: pentapox, seriously?"

"Hey, fooled your people, even if it didn't fool you," Sokka smiled. "For an idiot, I'm not really that stupid, am I?"

"No, I guess you're not," Azula admitted.

Her smile was far more affectionate than she intended for it to be, and yet she didn't contain it. She didn't restrain herself. The very chance to swap stories with him, to talk at leisure, to smile and laugh… how she had missed that.

Oh, she had missed him, terribly so. It wasn't something she could deny to herself any longer.

"Don't feel bad, though, Princess," Sokka smiled. "The suction dots fade away after a while. Kind of like a hickey does."

"Heh. Those didn't fade away all that quickly, as far as I recall," Azula said, raising her eyebrows. Sokka chuckled and shrugged.

"Guess not all of them would, no," he admitted. "But you know, these are way smaller, and most are on our lower bodies, so it's not like there's going to be much to worry about. Unless, I don't know, you had a gig modeling naked for some sculptor within the next, what, ten-to-twelve hours…?"

"If I did have one, and you'd pulled this on me, I'd make you pay for this humiliation for as long as we lived," Azula assured him. Sokka grinned too honestly, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Fine, then. No trips to weird lakes with Azula right before she has an appointment with the royal sculptor," he decided.

It was so natural, so easy… she almost felt like sitting at the edge of the lake with him, and merely talking for as many hours as they'd had failed to talk throughout their journey so far. Though she also felt like doing something else, as she allowed her eyes to gaze at his still-glistening skin… at the body she had grown so accustomed to once, and that she had deprived herself from, by her own foolish mistakes. Suddenly, all the bad blood seemed to be irrelevant, and she wanted nothing but to touch him, and not merely just to rid him of another pentapus anymore…

"Here I thought I wasn't allowed to peek… yet you're checking me out, Princess?"

She froze, shooting a glare at him as he smirked in her direction. Azula rolled her eyes at his reaction, though she smiled before long.

"Fine. What's fair is fair. You're free to ogle me if you so wish."

"Ah, thanks for allowing it. I mean, I already had looked at everything I wanted to look at, but knowing you allow it does lighten my heart's load…"

"You're the worst," Azula smiled, glancing at him again as Sokka chuckled. "Here I thought you weren't stealing any glances at me, that all this pentapus business was very professional…"

"It was, Princess, of course it was. If I'd broken protocol, you'd be moaning your lungs out by now," he said, nonchalantly. Azula gasped, and he smirked proudly.

"And what makes you think I would've allowed you to get away with that?" she asked.

"That you were checking me out just now, of course," he determined.

"Heh. And what convinces you that it'd be me moaning instead of you?" Azula huffed. Sokka raised his eyebrows and smiled at her, biting his lip playfully.

"Then… you want to make me moan as badly as I want to make you moan?" he asked. Her cheeks flushed violently. "Are we going to play it fair that way, too? A glance for a glance, a touch for a touch, a kiss for a kiss…?"

"Who said anything about kisses?" Azula whispered, though her eyes didn't leave Sokka's: she offered him a challenge, and the Sokka she had always known had been unable to resist one… she only hoped he'd be just as unwilling to hold back this time as he ever had been in the past.

"I just did, didn't you hear me?" He smiled as he leaned closer to her: Azula's heart raced gaster still. "Because something tells me you wouldn't mind it if I kissed your pentapox marks better…"

"There's no such thing as pentapox," Azula retorted. Sokka smirked.

"Funny thing to focus on, when I just said I wanted to kiss your legs all over," he said. Azula shivered visibly, breaking their eye contact by drawing her eyes down, almost bashfully.

It was not too surprising that she'd be that flustered, though it disappointed Sokka to a fault, all the same. Back in the day, she would have merely responded with her own crude remarks until they wound up in bed, thrusting wildly at each other. Now, though… she hesitated. Just as she had run away that night. It was no surprise, not really…

"Just the legs?"

Her question threw him off, just as he had been about to make up his mind to stand up and return to their campsite, once he told her not to make much of their flirty teasing. He blinked blankly, as Azula raised her face again, with fierce determination.

"You just said… what, now?" he blurted out.

"Didn't you hear me?" Azula said, despite her voice trembled. "Is it just the legs you'd kiss… snow savage?"

A title that had started as a mere jest at his expenses had eventually gained another meaning, after their third opportunity to sleep together: she had determined the true reason Water Tribe people were thought to be savages wasn't that their civilization was underdeveloped… but rather, that their erotic inclinations were so wild and unrestrained they stood out from the rest. She couldn't speak for a whole culture, of course not… but she could certainly speak for Sokka's skills. And after making such surprisingly flattering claims, Sokka had pinned her to the bed and proven himself a savage more proudly than ever before – and Azula had some trouble walking the next day because of it.

She had called him a snow savage before in their journey: had it been to evoke that night, or had it been, again, just a jest? All possibilities were on the table when it came to Azula. Yet right now he couldn't possibly doubt what she was suggesting… he couldn't second-guess it. He knew he wasn't getting a better deal than this one, and he had been too selfless as it was: he couldn't resist her, let alone her striking, gorgeous body, for another moment.

Sokka's hand shot to the back of her head, and when he pulled her closer to press his lips to hers, he found her own hands had clasped his neck: so violently they joined that their teeth crashed, and yet they didn't stop because of it. They had wasted too much time, worried about too much nonsense… it was enough by now. There was but one solution for their predicament, and the best prelude for it was heated, savage sex of the sort they had enjoyed before their relationship had fallen to shambles.

His arms surrounded her waist, compelling her to wrap her legs around his body: he rose to his feet, fearing he'd lose balance, but he remained determined to kiss her deeper and longer. Azula's heart raced ferociously, her fingers tight around his smooth hair locks as every familiar, blissful sensation he elicited in her body tore through her very soul. He wasn't kissing her halfheartedly, as he might have if he no longer cared… as he might have, if he no longer loved her. Then… he had distanced himself from her because he had believed, again, that that was what she had wanted? He hadn't chased after her… because he had taken her behavior as rejection, rather than an invitation to try harder? He had given her space, assuming she needed it, taking for granted that she didn't love him back…

He was kissing her wildly, walking naked through a forest with her, despite he probably thought she didn't love him back.

And now her heart ached, even if she didn't know why. She couldn't understand it, try as though she might. He interrupted their kiss briefly, only to ensure he was on the right track towards the tent he had pitched, and he stole a few more kisses from her lips before reaching their destination: tugging the flap aside, he knelt before the entrance, setting Azula down atop the sleeping bag. He kicked the tent's flap closed clumsily, and quickly returned to worshipping her body, his full weight crushing her delightfully.

He certainly hadn't expected her to return his passion as she did: even now her legs seemed unwilling to let go of him, and her long nails dug into his skin, proving she had wanted this desperately. He had found it odd that she would tag along for a trip with him, eventually he took for granted that she only wanted to torment him, and relish in a rare chance to leave the Fire Nation Palace, seeing as Zuko scarcely ever let her set foot outside it, let alone outside her nation… but if she had merely wanted to escape, using him as a stepping stone for it, she wouldn't have stayed with him once they reached the Earth Kingdom. He had half-expected to wake up and discover his traveling companion was gone, on the previous night, which they'd spent in a modest inn at Garsai… but she was still there. Then, he had expected her to take off through the forest, leaving him to his own devices… and again, she didn't do that. She seemed to genuinely want to come with him… though why, he didn't know for sure, not until now. He had pondered that she might have wanted to make amends for breaking his heart, but he hadn't thought she'd wish to rekindle their affair at all…

Now, as she thrusted upwards at him, one of her hands dashing between their bodies to pump his manhood, he realized the most wishful of all possibilities was, despite his rational mind had constantly claimed otherwise, the true explanation for Azula's actions.

He didn't hold back, not in the least: he drilled into her fiercely once they joined their bodies, thrusting with as much strength as he could muster while still kissing her as often as he could. She was breathless, her body strained, her heart still racing… and yet she wanted more, as she proved by rolling them over on the sleeping bag once he was finished, straddling him as she strived to make him hers for the thousandth time. More savage thrusting, and this time her head nearly crashed with the tent's ceiling as she sat up, riding his shaft recklessly: the tent truly could have fallen down upon her, she wouldn't have cared one bit. Then it was him who took over yet again, and they spent hours taking turns to lead their savage coupling, decorating each other's bodies with as many hickeys and bite marks as they could lavish each other with… and it would make quite the spectacle come morning, once they saw in full daylight the full score of reddened marks their bodies would sport, paired with the many dots the pentapi had left upon them.

The final round found them lying together on their sides, face to face, thrusting slowly into each other while they shared countless kisses after their last climaxes. Sokka closed his eyes, overwhelmed by pleasure: they hadn't eaten dinner yet, and his body appeared to resent him for it, seeing as they'd exercised rather extensively just now. They had also left their clothes behind by the lake, and he certainly hoped they'd still be there by morning… but he didn't dare let go of Azula to deal with any such matters, not just yet. Not while her body was wound so tightly around his own, not when it might be one of the last times it ever was… for he had no foolish hopes that this rekindling would last longer than this trip to find Space Sword. Not when Azula had already ran away from him before… when she might just do it again if he ever overwhelmed her ever again…

"You're… not going to say anything?" her voice broke through the darkness and silence, and Sokka damn near wished she hadn't spoken at all. Silence, uncertainty, were better than the mistakes he was likely to make while attempting to read her once again.

"Didn't think you'd want me to," he whispered, simply. He had thought that would be enough for Azula to understand how scared he was, how unwilling to let go of her… but naturally, the proud princess couldn't make anything easy for him.

"Since when do you do whatever I want you to?" she said. He huffed: he should know better than to fall for her verbal traps and tricks… and yet he plunged headfirst into this one, hating himself for it as he uttered his response.

"Since always," he said, bluntly. Azula frowned, but fell silent again. "Since the first night we spent together. For every minute and every moment of my life since then."

"That's… not true," Azula said, though her voice trembled lightly. "How… how could you even know what I wanted without asking me, anyway? If you didn't know…"

"I fucked you when you wanted me to. I walked away when you wanted me to," Sokka said, simply. "And I shut up now, because I know that if I dare say what I'm really thinking, you'll take off again and I don't think my stupid heart will be able to take that anymore."

Azula tensed up next to him. He didn't attempt to soften his words, which he had spoken far more bitterly than he had intended to… but it was true enough that he had seen more than his share of heartbreak throughout his life. There was only so much he could take before he came crashing down for good, unwilling to love ever again… frankly, he had thought he was there already, after she had ran off on him that night. He had been so anguished for the next months, doing his best to stay out of her way, to never inconvenience her… and in the process, he had nearly self-destructed. He was dead sure the reason no one wanted to take a road trip with him wasn't because everyone was too busy… but rather, because none of his friends thought it was a good idea to spend long stretches of time with the moodiest, least fun Sokka they had ever known. To this day, none of them understood why he had changed so much, so suddenly… and to this day, he refused to explain, too. How to explain he had finally found the right person to spend his life with, only to discover he didn't embody the same thing for her…?

"S-Sokka…" she called for him suddenly, bringing him out of his thoughts. Sokka breathed deeply and rubbed his face with a hand, as though trying to shake off the emotional words that had tumbled out of him. What a fool… he wasn't supposed to tell her any of that. He wasn't supposed to guilt her into a damn thing, what was wrong with him?

"Don't mind me, Azula, don't… don't worry. I'm okay," he said, simply.

She seemed rather determined to prove him wrong, however: her hand reached for his chest, touching his heart, feeling its powerful, yet fragile beats. He gritted his teeth, trying to find something to say, anything to defuse the charged situation, far more tense now than in the rest of their awkward days on the road, combined…

"You said you loved me," she whispered. His breath caught. "You said so… and I left. But it wasn't because I… b-because I didn't want to see you anymore."

"What?" Sokka said, and the confusion did nothing to help his current discomfort.

"Sokka, I… I'm sorry. I know you believe you loved me, and because you did, I ruined everything, but the truth is…"

"Woah, what's that supposed to mean, 'I believe I loved you'?" Sokka snapped, eyeing her dark silhouette with a scowl. "There's no 'believe' about it, Azula. I loved you: I still do."

"You… no, Sokka, no," Azula said, shaking her head promptly. Yet her tone, the nervousness with which she spoke… it gave him pause, where he'd had none before. While he certainly didn't appreciate being told by anyone that his feelings couldn't be what he knew they were, he also knew Azula well enough by now to understand there was more going on underneath the surface than she wanted to admit right now.

"No what?" he said, softening his voice. "What are you trying to tell me, Azula?"

"You can't love me. And if you truly did, t-then… you shouldn't," she said, shivering against him. "I can't be… I can't be loved, not like other people can. I can't love, either, so maybe just…"

"What the hell? What's that supposed to mean?" Sokka asked, and Azula shook her head.

"That's what they said. In that damn asylum," she swallowed hard. "They diagnosed me, and tested me, and decided I was… incapable of I don't know how many emotions. They said I couldn't feel them, that I only pretended to, that I… that I copied what I saw in others, but was incapable of truly feeling those emotions myself."

"What sort of…? That's bullshit!" Sokka exclaimed, frowning. Azula shrank in her spot beside him, pressing her head to his chest. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?! You're capable of emotions alright, of so many of them, for crying out loud… who the hell paid those pieces of shit to say that about you? I'll go gut them as soon as we find Space Sword…"

"My mother thought I was a monster," Azula spoke against his chest. Sokka's wild rant stopped cold suddenly. "Why would she love Zuko but not me? Why would she say something was wrong with me if nothing had been wrong at all? Even now, she looks at me funny, no matter if Zuko's taken me back. Like she thinks any moment I'm just going to snap, and set the whole damn Palace on fire. Somedays… somedays I actually do want to do that, Sokka. Whenever I'm too frustrated, I just…"

"Then you can be frustrated? Isn't that an emotion?" Sokka huffed. "Azula… I can't say I know anything for sure, but it sounds like those damn assholes at that institution weren't trying to help you at all. If anything… they tried to convince you that you weren't human. They made you think emotions were worthless, and well, your damn family doesn't help one bit either…"

"But emotions are… they're not good, Sokka," Azula said, shaking her head.

"Says who? Ozai's far from a reliable source of information, you know…"

"It's not just him. It's… I've let myself be swayed by stupid impulses so many times now," Azula said, gritting her teeth. "I mean… if that's what emotions are, they just… they make you do things you shouldn't. They make you lose sight of your rational mind, and then…"

"The more you fight them, the worse it gets," Sokka finished for her. Azula flinched beside him. "Which… sounds like you understand and know emotions pretty well, for someone who allegedly can't feel them."

Azula breathed with difficulty against him, and to her surprise, his arms wrapped warmly around her, pulling her as close as she could be to him. He pressed his lips to the top of her head.

"What did you feel… when you heard I was visiting again, the first time I visited the Fire Nation after all those months without seeing you?" he asked. Azula tensed around him. "Nothing wrong will come from telling me, Azula. I'm not going to hurt you. I just… need to know. And I think you need to say it even more than I need to hear it."

She swallowed hard before making up her mind. There was no trace of joking in his voice… no hint of mockery, of forcefulness, of bullheaded stubbornness. He wasn't trying to make her accept his feelings… he was trying to help her understand her own. Tears surged in her eyes, and with her face pressed to his bare chest as it was, she knew he would feel them directly on his skin.

"I… wanted to see you," she whispered. "I hoped you'd want to see me too. But when we crossed paths, you simply… walked past me. You barely even glanced at me. I… I thought I disgusted you. And it… it hurt. It did."

"I thought I was the one who disgusted you," Sokka said with a trembling voice, tightening his embrace further. "When you ran off, and avoided seeing me, I… I was sure it meant you'd never wanted things to go as far as they did. So I… decided to leave you be. Because I figured you didn't love me back. I thought… you'd be better off without me."

"I wasn't. I'm not," Azula admitted with far more honesty than she ever thought she'd muster, shaking her head against his chest.

"I'm sorry," Sokka whispered, and she gasped. "I should've… guessed I couldn't understand what was going through your head. Doesn't matter how smart I think I am, you're always much more complicated than I can figure out…"

"You… you're not the one who should apologize," Azula said, shaking her head again, and by now the tears did stream down her face. "I'm the one who… who left, and I hurt you, because I didn't know how to tell you that… t-that you shouldn't have loved someone like me…"

"I'm afraid that's never going to stop me," Sokka smiled sadly, raising a hand to her cheek, wiping the tears away as best he could with his thumb. "Love isn't that easily given and taken away."

"But I…" she gasped, shaking her head. "You can't… y-you shouldn't love me, Sokka. No one has ever…"

"I don't know if no one has ever loved you, Azula," Sokka whispered, raising her chin delicately: despite how dark it was, she could see his shape looming closer, so close he found her lips with his own, but far more softly than earlier. Her breath hitched as he pulled away, and she remained desperate, eager for more. "But if no one did before, I'm proud to be the first person who ever did. Whatever mistakes you made… we'll fix them, if they can be fixed. We'll move past them, if they can't be. And you know what's the best part? You don't have to love me back. I didn't tell you how I felt because… because I thought you'd respond with the same thing. I said it because… because I couldn't hold back anymore. Because you made me so happy, you still do, and… I needed you to know that. If you never feel the same way towards me, I'll accept it… but that won't change my feelings for you. It won't erase my truth. And that's still my truth, to this day: I love you, Azula. And as far as I can tell, I always will."

She couldn't hold back anymore: a torrent of tears streamed down her cheeks as she embraced him tightly, just as tight, if not even more so, as she had earlier that day. He held her the same way, pressing gentle kisses around her face, on the top of her head, on her temples… and she only cried further, overwhelmed, overcome by the onslaught of emotions she was supposedly unable to experience.

Had she truly been incapable of those emotions at all… or had she merely locked them away, in all the trauma of her childhood and teenage years, until they finally had broken free upon hearing Sokka's words tonight? Had his sincere, selfless feelings given wing to hers…? Or was she truly just emulating feelings she had seen someplace else…?

Ha. She was sure she had never seen anyone crying this pathetically over a love confession, so copying such an emotional outburst was ruled out.

Which meant… they were wrong. The diagnosis had been wrong. Maybe she was capable of much more than those damn mental experts had decided she was…

Those thoughts calmed her, despite they were anything but tranquilizing, as they would mean she had been living her life halfway for years now, abiding by that damn assessment as though it owned her, attempting to trick herself into believing her inability to feel emotions was a good thing somehow… but there was a lot she needed to do right now instead of crying, in the wake of such a revelation.

"H-how… how do you know you love me?" Azula asked, her voice fragile and unsteady. Her question took Sokka by surprise. "How does anyone know… that they're feeling love for someone else? I… I'm not trying to copy it, I just want to know if…"

"I didn't think you'd be copying anything in the first place," Sokka whispered, rubbing her back gently. "But if you're worried… how about you tell me how you feel, and I'll tell you if that sounds like love or not?"

"Then…" she said, breathing deeply. "I was… happy to see you, but then you didn't seem to want anything to do with me. M-my chest felt hollow, somehow… and when I talked to defend you when Zuko was being an ass about your quest for your sword, I thought you might be grateful, but you looked unaffected, as though it didn't matter… it hurt, too. I felt like an idiot, because I… I thought maybe you were happier whenever I wasn't around. That I'd messed up so badly that now you were better off without me, but I was so hung up on you, I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I wanted to fix things between us… because I wanted you to smile the way you always did before. It hurt that you wouldn't, but I hoped… and then the damn pentapus thing stuck to me and you were back to your old self for a moment, and we were laughing, and helping each other, and my damn stupid hollow chest felt full again…"

Sokka's hands didn't stop rubbing against her back gently. Azula gritted her teeth, clinging to him, to her every word, as she spoke with far more honesty than she remembered doing in her whole life. It seemed she had learned that from him, somehow…

"I never wanted to lose you," she said. "I never wanted to push you so far away you'd never want to come back. I thought… I thought you'd come back and fight to stay by my side because… isn't that how love works? I never thought… I never thought you were walking away because you loved me. B-because you thought that was what I wanted… I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't… I didn't want to push you away, Sokka…"

"I get it," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "I understand now. I… I'm relieved, you know? I thought I'd spend the rest of my life alone…"

"You…?" Azula said, puzzled. Sokka chuckled.

"No one knew I was with you… so my damn sister kept trying to set me up with people. I always said no, she'd always find a way to throw them at me, I'd always make myself scarce as soon as I knew there was yet another girl waiting to meet the great hero Sokka…"

"Pfft… great hero?" Azula smiled, amused.

"See? I don't want or need a girl who worships me" Sokka chuckled, kissing her brow. "I'd rather have one who thinks all that stuff is nonsense… because she sees right through me, and knows deep down I'm just a dork who wants to spend time with his friends, talk nonsense, joke around, pull pranks on people…"

"We need to do it again… pulling pranks on everyone," Azula smiled, pressing her own lips to his chest. "I miss that."

"Well… I don't know what this really means for us, going forward," Sokka whispered. "Maybe you're not ready for anything too demanding anyway… but what you said you felt for me did sound quite a lot like love, you know?"

"It… did?" Azula said, the hopeful inflection of her voice brought a gentle grin to Sokka's face.

"That's right," he said, pressing his brow to hers. "So… going back to civilization, and telling everyone we're together now? Sounds like the culmination of the greatest prank of all time to me."

"Though it's not just a prank," Azula smiled, closing her eyes. "We are together. Or at least, we should be."

"If we both agree on that… then I guess it means we are," Sokka sighed.

She hadn't known what to make of his tone with the last words he spoke… until a soft laugh shook him, and then he was squeezing her so tight she lost her breath: tears fell upon her skin, just as her own had fallen on his. Azula gritted her teeth but hugged him back, burying her face in his shoulder as he sobbed quietly against her.

Just one silly development, one chaotic afternoon spent battling against strange but harmless invertebrates, had turned into a wild evening of relentless trysts until they had released their everything together… and then it had become an emotional night, where they had finally talked thoroughly, finally understanding each other's fears, weakness, insecurities and thought processes. It hadn't needed to come this far, they both knew it… and yet they were so grateful to recover what they'd lost that they didn't stop to reason with how much time they had wasted: instead, their lips met in a tearful kiss, and their bodies joined anew for one more time that night, but in a warmer, loving manner, slow and gradual, until they both reached their final culmination and fell asleep soundly in each other's arms. Just as there had been no violent solution to fend off the pentapi, there had been no such solution for their relationship either: a gentler approach, far more sincere, where they had opened their hearts, regardless of the painful risk it represented, was the only true way to resolve their conflict.

The long-standing tension between them was gone, completely, by the next morning: they couldn't seem to stop smiling together, not when they made love again by dawn, not when they ate a hefty breakfast to make up for the dinner they had missed, not when they rushed back to the lake to find the clothes that they had left lying about by the shore. Once they packed the tent and took off, following Sokka's map, they did as much with hands linked, casting countless teasing comments at each other with every new step they took together.

After a week and a half of long, heartfelt nights and blissful, bright days, their journey appeared to be one that should have lasted a lifetime instead… and yet Azula's luck dictated otherwise.

She spotted it amidst bushes while she foraged for food, as their reserves were near depleted by then: it didn't glow as brightly as it had long ago, but that golden pommel still caught her eye. She pushed the plants out of the way, slowing by the weapon to find it sunken to the hilt in the soil. She breathed deeply and wrapped her hand around the handle's leather, and without much struggle, the weapon came loose… and that black blade nearly glistened under the sunlight once she had withdrawn it completely.

It was over, then. Their long trip, their chance to reconnect and make amends… Azula gritted her teeth as she gazed at the weapon, almost begrudging it for not having taken a little longer to show up, despite she had practically found it by sheer chance as it was. She briefly pondered stashing it away someplace safe, to make sure she and Sokka would continue to travel together for a little longer… but his words, his many decisions and sacrifices for her sake, convinced her otherwise. He had taught her what love looked like: selfishness wasn't part of it. He had come here to find his sword, and she had no right to deprive him from it for a moment longer.

"Sokka?" she called for him, and he raised his head from the small venison he'd been able to catch earlier, thanks to his boomerang.

"What is it?" he asked. "Found anything that looks too bright and funny? It's probably poisonous, if that's it…"

"Well, that sure explains why it was that dangerous all along, huh?" Azula smiled, returning to the clearing they were resting at that morning. She raised her right hand, showing the weapon she held to Sokka, who froze in place immediately. "Didn't think you'd play so underhandedly back in those days, coating your weapon in poison, but…"

"AZULA! YOU FOUND IT?!"

Azula laughed as she offered the sword at her lover, who clumsily jumped to his feet and rushed towards her. He took Space Sword in his hands, smiling brightly enough to cry yet again… and then he dropped the weapon, to her utter astonishment, and embraced her so tightly he raised her from the ground.

"S-Sokka!" she gasped, embracing him right back in fear of falling… especially in fear of falling on his insanely sharp sword.

"You're the greatest, smartest, cleverest, most amazing woman in the entire planet!" he squealed. Despite her previous apprehension, Azula couldn't hold back a trickle of laughter as she pressed her face to his neck. "Oh, hell…! I was starting to think we'd never find it! Which, to be fair, I didn't mind too much? I was having so much fun being on the road with you as it was, that I…!"

"You forgot you were looking for a sword?" Azula smiled, as he set her down at last. "I think I could tell. Seeing as you kept making plans about what we'd eat for our next meal, or what position we'd try for the next night…"

Sokka snorted and laughed, pressing his brow to hers. Azula grinned, breathing out slowly: that was the face she had relished in. That expression of pure, undoubtable bliss… the genuine smiles she had never been deemed worthy of until Sokka had decided otherwise. Her heart ached pleasantly at the sight of it, at the gentle bliss that permeated them both right now.

"Thank you, Azula… thank you so much," he said, pressing many quick, enthusiastic kisses to her lips. Azula's smile only widened further. "Goodness, I owe you so much more than you can imagine…"

"No, you don't…" Azula whispered, caressing his chest. "Whatever debts we owed each other… I think they're settled after this trip. I'd hurt you… now I've made up for it, somehow, I hope…"

"You've more than made up for every bit of pain, Azula… you didn't even have to, but you have," Sokka smiled, caressing her face kindly.

"I did have to…" she said, as another of those impulses she couldn't repress bubbled to the surface: "Because I love you, too."

He had never expected her to return his feelings… let alone for her to say it aloud, if she did. He was sure he'd spend his life with her, regardless of whether she ever said those three words to him at all… and yet now that she had, it was as though his entire world had expanded, exploded, becoming greater, larger and better in a single moment. Tears surged in his eyes, as did in hers… and the next thing she knew, they were back in the tent, reprising every blissful night and morning they had spent making love relentlessly together. After so long of fearing she'd always be alone, fearing she had alienated the only person who genuinely had cared for her, now she knew she'd live every day ahead with the bright awareness that she would have him by her side…

No one had truly expected Sokka to return with his sword. Zuko, personally, hadn't expected him to return with Azula, to begin with, having even set up a whole squad to track down his sister once she inevitably escaped…

Yet what no one could have ever anticipated was for Sokka and Azula to not only have found Space Sword, but to have found their way to each other just as well: Zuko spent months convinced their engagement announcement was but another of their joint pranks… even up until the very wedding ceremony. Teasing him further, after first kissing her new husband, Azula had promised Zuko that their first child would be called 'Prank', in his honor… and only then did the reality of the situation hit him, despite he was still quite far from being able to process it fully. Katara, of course, wasn't in much better shape… and yet, to everyone's surprise, she eased up on them faster if only because of Sokka's genuine happiness. Seeing him back in good spirits, even if they mostly were related to the woman he couldn't seem to stop holding in his arms ever since they returned from their long journey, was enough of a relief that she managed to overlook, at least most times, that her new sister-in-law was none other than who she was…

And as fun as their reactions were, nothing pleased either the princess or her new consort as much as their relationship itself did. Opening their hearts to each other fully, thoroughly understanding what their feelings were, had changed their worlds for the better. It had started as a quest for a sword… and instead it had shaped into the reforging of a love and the beginning a blissful journey that would span for a lifetime.


	5. Day 5: "I melt in your hands"

So. It really had come to this. Of all things, her first mission ever truly had to turn out like this.

She hadn't underestimated him when he had nearly shattered her bones with his club, had she been careless enough to stand closer to him or failed to evade his attack. No properly-trained firebender would ever be quite so stupid as to believe themselves superior to heavy weapons, especially one that looked as heavy as that damn club. Yet she had expected he would only be a warrior, at the time: she never expected him to be the brains of his group, for this was merely their second encounter, and while she was still assessing the enemy as they crossed blows in the abandoned town the Avatar had lured her to, she had never quite expected… well, that there would be a truly smart foe in the other team, to put it in some way.

"I know when I'm beaten," she had said, eyeing the group that surrounded her, her hands raised in the air. "A Princess surrenders with honor."

She had noticed they were whispering, though: just as she saw Iroh had been focusing on the earthbender, that tall warrior boy had spoken to the short, new member of their team too: the waterbender and the Avatar were listening as well, her brother, of course, was only focused on her… so many potential targets, what to do?

She chose to attack Iroh in the end, but it happened just as the earthbender attacked, too: a sudden surge of earth, and all her limbs had been restrained, held down: she tried to evoke fire, but the strain of this completely awkward position, prostrated on the ground, didn't allow for it.

"Quick! Look for something to tie her up, I don't know…!" the warrior boy had ordered… just as her brother screamed:

"AAAAAAH!"

Ugh. He was always so melodramatic.

She struggled against the restraints… only for the earthbender to take things further: she found herself buried to the neck in the ground, gasping for breath, panicking as she realized she couldn't move at all. What to do, what to do…? There had to be a way out, she just had to think…

"I found shackles!" exclaimed the waterbender, from inside one of the buildings: she and the Avatar had taken to rummaging through the nearby ghostly town to follow fit with the warrior's demand.

"Great! That'll be way better than rope, she'd just burn through that…"

"Oh… wait, Zuko!"

The waterbender returned with the shackles, but she handed them to the Avatar as she approached the firebenders: Azula's brother was crouched by their Uncle's inert form… and upon realizing the Avatar and his friends were approaching him, he shouted:

"Ugh! Get away from us!"

"Zuko, I can help!"

"LEAVE!" he exclaimed, and now he outright attacked them: wow, that was rude. And here Azula thought they were friends… it would explain why he had been so incompetent as to fail to capture them throughout the past months.

Yet just as she thought Zuko would get what he wanted, and she'd be left buried in this damn place for eternity, the tall warrior boy turned towards her. Azula scowled at him too, and he huffed, hands on his hips.

"No way we're leaving. Not without our prisoner, anyway," he said, stepping towards her.

"I'm not your…! You'd best stay where you are, or I'll make you pay for this!" she exclaimed, knowing her bravado was empty. What could she do, spit fire at his boots? Maybe he'd be outraged about it… and then he might outright kick her face. Which would be utterly deplorable and humiliating. What on earth had just happened? Why was she in this completely unacceptable situation?

"You know, I can move those shackles with my bending, lock them around her wrists underground," the earthbender revealed, with a mischievous grin. "That way she's not going to be a problem!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" the Avatar said, eyeing them all warily. "Are we… going to make her our prisoner? Really? But… why?"

"I'm with Aang on that. Why do we want her with us?" the waterbender asked, eyeing her fellow Water Tribesman – who Azula suspected would be her brother – and the earthbender with utter confusion.

"Well… to change up the game somewhat? It's always the Fire Nation trying to capture us, right? And this way, we know this one's not going to catch us again," the warrior suggested. "Not if we keep an eye on her ourselves."

"Ridiculous… my friends will find me. And then they'll defeat the whole lot of you without breaking a sweat," Azula said, with a proud smirk. "And if, somehow, you managed to avoid them, every Fire Nation soldier will attempt to find me once my captivity is known. You won't get away with this, and you'll pay for it with your lives, whether by my hand or anyone else's."

"You sure?" he had asked, raising his eyebrows. "Because, hey! We're already being chased by a lot of Fire Nation people and so far, we're doing pretty good! Honestly, you and your friends were the scariest ones to chase us so far, so it kind of feels like you were the best the Fire Lord could send already? Which means… now that we took you down, we're feeling pretty good about our odds against everything else they could send at us."

He smiled sardonically. She scowled, angrily. And while the Avatar and the waterbender appeared unconvinced still, they soon surrendered, and the damned warrior boy got his way: she was shackled and unearthed afterwards, and while she could presumably wield basic fire against them, she couldn't possibly perform a full kata within these restraints. She'd have to use more than firebending to escape… she'd have to use her wits. And that she intended to.

She would leave a trail of breadcrumbs for Mai and Ty Lee to follow. It was hard to decide on which breadcrumbs, but eventually she took to lightly burning the ends of her hair, by raising her shackled hands to wipe her face. The hairs would be in danger of floating off their own accord in the breeze, but hopefully they wouldn't be blown away too fast for her friends to follow her trail, much as they had followed the damn bison's…

And soon enough they wound up on said damn bison who, to Azula's chagrin, was fully clean now, and apparently not shedding anymore. It growled at her, and she scowled at it too. Shaggy beast…

And then she got dragged up to the saddle, where the three benders fell asleep, and the non-bender, despite having huge bags under his eyes, decided to stay awake and keep watch, for she couldn't be trusted. And of course she couldn't be: who wouldn't be mistrusting of their captive foe? It was natural. She had to figure out a way to turn that caution of his against him… or turn it into something else, instead.

"You look terrible. I bet you're far more handsome when you've had a few hours of rest," she said: men were fools in many ways. Perhaps a girl's compliments, however shallow as they might be, would sit well with him.

The reaction was just as she had expected it: that her plan would work at all, however, was rather startling: he was visibly flustered, eyeing her with uncertainty, but he appeared perfectly shyly pleased by the compliment nonetheless.

"Well, yeah… you'll likely see that later tomorrow, I guess, once I do get enough rest," he said, with a shrug. She did succeed at goading his ego, of course she did… perfect.

"Will I, now?" Azula replied, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah… as long as you don't try to escape beforehand, anyway," he said, shrugging. Azula scoffed.

"What makes you think my friends won't find us before that?" she asked.

"That they haven't found us yet, I think," the warrior boy admitted, with an awkward grin. "You three dangerous ladies seemed pretty intense, but something – or rather, my instincts! – tell me that you're the brains of the group. Were you the one who decided to chase after us on that creepy machine? Where did you get something like that, in the first place? And those mounts… you've got to be some real top-of-the-line bounty-hunter or something, huh?"

"You think I'm a bounty-hunter?" she asked, amused. "So you don't see the family resemblance either?"

"Family resemblance…?" he said, blinking blankly. Azula raised her eyebrows. "Woah. Wait a minute, are you…? You're Zuko's sister? Hell, no, I don't see it!"

"Oh, really?" Azula smirked. He scoffed.

"You're way prettier, like, by a landslide. And you're smart. Huh. I think you got the family jackpot, come to think of it… which, huh, who knows why the Fire Lord's family has anything good in their lineage, but if there's anything at all, looks like you hogged it all up for yourself."

Despite everything, Azula laughed. Why did she laugh, she didn't know. The warrior chuckled too, scratching the back of his neck. Were they flirting, without meaning to? Or was this just honesty? She was having a hard time telling… for it was the first time any boy had called her pretty.

"Is that why you decided to keep me as a prisoner? Because you were smitten with me right away?" she smirked. The warrior scoffed. "It's alright, you can admit it…"

"And why would I admit something that's not true? I mean, come on, if it were a matter of being smitten, I'd much rather keep you chasing after me," he smirked. "Boys love the idea of being chased violently by beautiful girls."

"And girls love the idea of being hogged up possessively by handsome boys," Azula retaliated.

They both snorted. And then they laughed.

Was she seriously laughing with the enemy?

"Could you two idiots quit with the weird flirting and let me SLEEP?!"

Toph's shout certainly landed on its mark. Both a Princess and her new enemy-captor-possibly-new-friend merely nestled on a saddle quietly for a while, blushing and hoping the other one couldn't tell under the cover of darkness.

"Though…" she finally broke the silence about ten minutes later: she could tell he was still awake, and his head jolted towards her quickly. "Would be nice to know your names, at least. If nothing else."

"Oh… heh. I'm Sokka," he said, smiling awkwardly.

"Sokka, huh…?" she said, enjoying the sensation of uttering the foreign name's syllables. Curious feeling…

"And you're…?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

"Azula," she replied. Sokka eyed her appreciatively.

"Azula it is, then," he said, with a small smile. "Uh, the rest of us… the bison is Appa, the lemur is Momo, my sister there's Katara, and that's Aang, the Avatar, and…"

"Shut. UP!"

"… And the grumpy one's Toph."

"Right."

They did fall silent then… and the gears in the Princess's mind continued turning. No, this situation was far from ideal… but if she forged a bond, however basic it might be, with one of her captors, there was a far higher likelihood of escape than by only waiting for Mai and Ty Lee to find her. Those two usually were reliable enough… but who knew how far the breeze would blow the miserable trail she'd left behind herself. Not to mention, if that damn bison took off with them, she'd be as good as beyond their reach before long. No, this wouldn't do. She would find a way out of this situation by herself, and she'd obtain a ton of intel on the enemy in the process, too. It would be difficult to endure for a while… but it didn't hurt that the boy she'd chosen for her scheme wasn't that far from her type anyway. A little lankier than her preference, sure, but he could fill out more muscles with the years and…

And why was that even important? It wasn't. She had to focus.

That he was somewhat handsome – and she used both words quite loosely, no, she didn't like him, she wasn't a schoolgirl with a crush or anything like that – only helped matters anyway: she wouldn't have to feign her interest in him, at least, where it concerned his physical appeal to her. Everything else was a matter of delicately weaving a net of perfect deceit until he was so wrapped within her web that he'd be caught completely off-guard once she betrayed their fun little group…

It was just a matter of patience until the right moment to strike arrived. She wouldn't be a problem prisoner, she'd accept her fate… for now.

* * *

Flying on the bison was a strange, yet not entirely unwelcome experience, despite it practically sentenced her to not be found by her friends anytime soon. The group she was stuck with was… slightly strange, without a doubt. The waterbender often eyed her warily – she likely still disagreed with the notion of keeping her captive, and wanted nothing but to see Azula vanish from sight as soon as possible. The Avatar seemed careful too, but before long he started to talk more cheerfully, and Azula wondered if he had decided she was trustworthy already. The damn lemur had often climbed over her lap, and she had to shoo it only for the Avatar to laugh it off and say 'Momo was just happy to make a new friend'. As if she'd ever be friends with a large-eared rat…

The earthbender, to her surprise, seemed to be almost as new to the group as she was. She asked occasional questions about how things worked in the team, and it became apparent she had only joined them recently, just as Azula had suspected – her absence back in Omashu could have had many explanations, but that they'd only recruited her recently made perfect sense. And of course, the one she had decided would be her target was the non-bender… who was sleeping at the far end of the saddle, drooling awkwardly, with his limbs splayed in any direction, as though he were a carelessly discarded toy. She wondered how someone could rest in quite such relaxation when he had an enemy so close by… did he truly take their last conversation to signify she could be trusted? Or was it he trusted the rest of his companions to keep her in check? Or… perhaps he knew she wasn't stupid enough to try anything while hovering so many miles above ground, in foreign lands, when she had no idea where they were going.

"What exactly is our destination, if I can ask?" she sighed.

"We'll know when we get there," Katara said, simply. Azula's eyebrows twitched: this one was absolutely ruled out of her plan to earn goodwill from her captors. Anyone else would be fair game, save her. And that lemur. She really didn't like that flying rat.

They only reached that destination – a canyon – after about ten hours of flying, after which the bison apparently couldn't keep going any longer. Yet the Avatar seemed thrilled about where they'd wound up, and the warrior was also in a blissful mood after napping for most the day on the creature's saddle. Of course, the waterbender didn't stop giving Azula the stink-eye as they unpacked, though as the others seemed to be warming up to her, to a fault, Azula decided to poke the hornet wasps' nest instead of enduring the judgment and scowls.

"You really seem to dislike me quite strongly," she said, casually. "Which I find odd, seeing as it seems you've been chased by my brother for far longer than me, and yet you offered him a helping hand back when I attacked our uncle. Is it you feel threatened by my presence somehow, or…?"

"Threatened? Yes. Because I'm pretty sure you're exactly where you want to be," Katara rebuffed, shooting her another harsh glare. "And yeah, Zuko's been worse than you, so far. But that you're his sister doesn't help in the least. And I wasn't really offering my help to Zuko but to Iroh. He gave us a hand back in the North Pole, so…"

"Is that so…?" Azula asked, unable to mask her genuine outrage at those words. Katara scoffed.

"You do remember, still, that we're not your friends? You yourself said it, didn't you? Enemies and traitors, working together?"

"Right, but I just thought that perhaps you had a soft spot for Zuzu since he'd chased you for so many months… I figured maybe I had to up my game so I'd earn some goodwill around here, but I guess it's not that simple," Azula sighed. "Working against my nation seems to be the only way you'll trust me, huh?"

"And even then I don't think Katara will let go that easily," Aang said, smiling awkwardly, though he blinked a few times when his words were almost interrupted by a loud cackle: "Uh… Sokka?"

"Zuzu?! Y-you call him Zuzu?!"

Azula glanced at the warrior with unabashed amusement: he DEFINITELY was her target. And yet, to her surprise, the earthbender snickered too… and the waterbender snorted before covering her mouth with a hand. Oh, maybe this wouldn't be quite as bad as she had anticipated… if they could bond over trashing Zuko, she had plenty of material to work with.

"I wasn't laughing!" Katara exclaimed, and yet everyone laughed at her denial just as well.

"Of course I call him Zuzu," Azula smiled proudly, as Sokka gazed at her with brimming amazement. "I don't presume to know how it works in your culture, but in the Fire Nation, the younger sister's official job is to embarrass and torment her older brother as best she can."

"Oh, it's the same in the South Pole, surprisingly," Sokka declared, smirking at Katara, who stuck out her tongue in his direction. "Though it's true too that the older brother's job is to protect their little sister… a thankless job, but we are just that selfless."

"Pfft! You don't have to protect me! I can protect myself just fine, thank you very much!"

"Sure thing! You know, it's not just about combat, it's about everything else! Who's the one who goes hunting and foraging and finding food for us…?"

"The one who's ALWAYS hungry?"

"And who did you tell to get a job when YOU were hungry? That's right, it was me! And I went and got one, and nearly died in a STORM while you didn't get a job of your own, but did I complain? Not even once…!"

"You're complaining now…" Toph pointed out, smirking, but the argument seemed poised to continue regardless.

Azula watched them bicker, however, and a rather strange sensation nestled in her chest upon hearing their words… upon processing them. Was that really what a brother was expected to do? In other cultures, maybe… it was ridiculous, though, and she scoffed at so much as the idea of picturing her brother getting a job for her sake, or going hunting or foraging for her. That wasn't likely to ever happen… not that she needed it to, of course. She did fend for herself, unlike Katara. She had been apart from her brother for three years, and she saw no need to rely on him. She didn't truly need anyone…

Hours after a rather simplistic dinner – Sokka caught a small animal that didn't taste very good to Azula – the group was set to rest again. The earthbender crafted an earthen tent for herself, the waterbender set up a traditional tent for herself, the Avatar was resting on his bison's saddle… and again, the warrior seemed determined to keep watch.

"You're on guard duty again tonight?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. Sokka nodded.

"It works, doesn't it? I got plenty of sleep through the day anyhow, I can take it," he shrugged. "You should get some rest too, Princess…"

"You'll still watch me as I sleep, won't you?" she teased, smirking. "Quite interesting to be the object of someone's observation to such extent…"

"Uh… yeah. Because you're a prisoner. And I don't want you pulling any funny business on us," Sokka said… and yet he was smiling. Ha. He found amusement in her teasing just as well.

"Oh, surely that's not all there is to it," she said, beaming mischievously. He chuckled and shook his head.

"There's not supposed to be more to it…" he said. "But anyway, you didn't sleep all day like I did, so you should rest now. You can even borrow my sleeping bag, if you want."

"Borrow your…?"

It hit her then that it wasn't a matter of older brother protectiveness: that was just what he was like. He protected people… even if they didn't deserve his protection.

"Only if you promise you won't set it on fire just to mess with me or anything mean like that, okay?" he said, smiling at her before reaching for his bags and unfolding the sleeping bag for her.

What a rare act of kindness… of generosity. What would he gain from this? What did he think he'd gain from it? Nothing, surely: he had to be stupid to think she had truly lowered her guard with no ulterior motive… and she could tell he wasn't stupid. At least, not when it came to things that mattered. So why show her any form of kindness…?

Once she was halfway inside the sleeping bag, she realized there was more to this apparently selfless act than met the eye: her stomach lurched at the scent of the sleeping bag, and she shot the owner an accusatory glare.

"W-why would you…?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"What?" he said, raising his eyebrows. "Oh! Oh, yeah, Toph says it smells weird, huh…? Woops. Heh, I forgot. Okay, okay, I'll wash it as soon as I can! Sorry… but it beats sleeping on the hard ground, doesn't it?"

"That depends on how sick I am in the morning…" Azula huffed, covering her nose, hoping that breathing through her mouth would be enough for her to ignore the stench.

"Well, I do hope you don't die! I promise, that wasn't an attempt to kill you. You haven't given us any useful information yet, so what's the point in trying to kill you at all, huh?"

"Ah, that's why you keep me alive, and not so you can watch me sleep," Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. Sokka smirked and nodded.

"True. Not that I'm complaining about the other thing, but I've got my priorities sorted out," he declared. She bit her lower lip but smiled.

Was this really what it was like to flirt with a boy? She'd never truly made any progress with anyone on that front before. This one seemed rather responsive to her advances, though… well, it would be useful practice for the future, at least. She could count on him for that.

"Good night, then," she said, keeping her head safely out of the sleeping bag, in hopes to inhale fresh air rather than the stale scent of the sleeping bag.

"Good night, Azula," he responded. It was weird that her gut felt tingly upon hearing him say her name…

The next day, however, took Azula by surprise: the Avatar had actually chosen this location to train, it seemed. And when Sokka was finally taking his time to sleep, the earthbender took to teaching earthbending lessons to the Avatar, and all his attempts to rest were thwarted completely. Once Sokka finally gave up resting, he took off to hunt, and Azula tagged along: while it was rather useful to learn more about the mechanics of earthbending, to unravel how to fight against it more effectively, she couldn't be careless and disregard her main pursuit. And as tempers seemed to flare often in the Avatar's training session, she ended up tagging along for Sokka's hunting trip instead. It would be useful to learn how hunting was done, if nothing else…

… Or so she thought, until Sokka fell into a hole, after chasing after a moose-lion cub, and despite he begged her for help, there wasn't much she could do for him: she pulled at him, jerked his hands upwards, and he only seemed to sink further. Funny how ironic life was, considering she was the one stuck in the ground similarly just two days ago…

"I'm going to die stuck in here, aren't I?" he groaned, after Azula's final attempt to heave him out failed.

"It's a possibility," she acknowledged. "I could be more helpful, you know? If I weren't shackled…?"

"Not much luck with that, I'm afraid…" Sokka groaned. "I… don't have the key myself."

"Ah. Then I'm befriending the wrong Water Tribe sibling, aren't I?" Azula said. That, at least, got a smile out of the warrior.

"Damn. And here I thought I was your type," Sokka said, nonchalantly.

"I didn't say you weren't. Just that, if you don't have the power to get rid of these, you're not much use to me," she said. Sokka chuckled and shook his head.

The rest of the day was surreal: the small moose-lion cub Sokka had been trying to hunt decided to play with him, carelessly so, even bringing him an apple that Azula found a most ironic gift for the avid meat-eater. Sokka groaned, swore he'd go vegetarian, made countless baseless claims… and yet not once did he beg her to go ask the others for help. Odd, considering two of his friends were earthbenders, albeit one more trained than the other…

And then the actual, chaotic mess began to unfold: Aang, apparently sick and tired of Toph's harsh training methods, stumbled into Sokka and his awkward situation. He failed to airbend him out of the hole, and then proceeded to pity his poor efforts at earthbending with a rather unexpected string of unfortunate wording, such as claiming to be stuck between a rock and a hard place… Azula couldn't stop chuckling, earning herself Sokka's harsh glares in retaliation… and that was when the mother of Sokka's new friend, the saber-tooth moose-lion cub, had appeared on the scene.

"Aang, just earthbend me out of here!" was Sokka's most common request, but the Avatar appeared to want to do anything but earthbend… leaving both his restrained companions to somehow fend for themselves as the furious creature sought to attack them.

It was fair and good that the Avatar's airbending seemed to distract the moose lion on occasion… but at one point it became apparent that it would trample Sokka most deliberately unless it was distracted. And while Azula could barely bend, with her hands shackled as she was, she leapt between Sokka and the creature and shot a small plum of blue fire in its direction.

That, of course, only seemed to make the creature angrier: Aang had to intervene then, casting a powerful gust of wind that finally alarmed the creature enough about these humans and their potential abilities, and it left through the forest at last.

And then Toph took advantage of that momentum to force Aang to earthbend for good. The Avatar was astonished to finally unlock the secrets of the art… while Azula and Sokka were merely relieved they had survived a nearly lethal encounter with a beast that could've killed them both.

Katara was delighted to see Sokka safe and sound once they were all free to return to camp, though she scowled at Azula, ready to blame her for her brother's disappearance…

"Azula stuck by me the whole time I was in that stupid hole," Sokka sighed, smiling and clapping the Fire Nation Princess on the shoulder. "I kind of thought she'd make a run for it? But… she stayed! And then even tried to save me from the moose-lion, but she just made it angry instead…"

"Really?" Katara said, blinking blankly, utterly blown away by the explanations.

"Animals… don't like fire. Clearly," Azula said, sighing.

"But she still tried to help me! And that really took me by surprise," Sokka grinned. "You know, you might fit better with our team than I thought all along. Aang! How about getting a new firebending teacher? Jeong Jeong was a pain anyway, so we could just recruit Azula for it and…!"

"W-wha…?!" Azula gasped. "Did you forget I'm supposed to be your enemy?"

"I think you're the one who did, eh? You tried to save my life today!" Sokka grinned, spreading his arms as though to hug her, and Azula squirmed out of his reach, hoping fruitlessly for her cheeks not to be as red as she suspected they were, going by the heat that surged underneath her skin.

Had she forgotten she was their enemy? No, not really. But was she growing to enjoy their company…? His company, in particular?

Perhaps a little.

* * *

Many strange things seemed to happen to the Avatar and his friends… and being caught in the middle of so many happenings was a rather novel experience for Azula. While she wasn't quite the most sheltered noblewoman in the Fire Nation, the idea of traveling abroad with a group of teenagers and children close to her age, with no one to enforce real discipline, no rules beyond those they agreed upon, no stability beyond the ground underneath their feet – or the saddle on which they flew – wouldn't have crossed her mind at all until it became her reality.

After the wild encounter with the moose lions, they went on a strange vacation spree that she found utterly laughable – they took vacations carelessly, willfully ignoring that her father was surely gearing up to strike against the Earth Kingdom's bastions? Truly? – and that resulted in a highly questionable trip to the Si Wong Desert. It didn't help that a group comprised by one too many weirdos decided to recruit a grown-up who appeared to be even more airheaded than Ty Lee – some professor at Ba Sing Se's university –, and that Sokka had decided his vacation would take them to a Library. Oh, it was a real pain that his decision would be the first one that was slightly appealing to her, in all this mess… despite the obvious fact, of course, that visiting a Spirit Library sounded completely, utterly absurd to the Princess of the Fire Nation.

"Does this place even exist?" Toph asked, eventually, as they soared across the desert on the sky bison's saddle.

"Some say it doesn't," the professor replied. Azula scoffed.

"Unsurprisingly so. Why would a Spirit Library be located in a desert, of all places?" she asked. "Utterly inconvenient."

"Well, a desert probably has plenty of room to host a big Library, right?" Sokka said, casually.

It was absurd logic, as far as Azula could tell – might as well claim there was plenty of room at the bottom of the sea, too, and if the idea was to keep everyone away from the damn place, it was far safer underwater than in a desert –, but so much as looking at Sokka right now, while he was shamelessly shirtless, was a bad idea. Why he had decided to strip off his upper body's garments, Azula didn't know, but while she didn't believe she was a prude, she couldn't dare look at him if there was a chance he'd catch her. So far, she had merely glanced at him on occasion… and admired his lean body. Yes, that was harmless, it wasn't like she'd tried to make a move on him – not like she truly knew how, anyway. But if he so much as suspected what effects his shirtless figure was having on her mind, he would never let her live this embarrassment down. And curses, she didn't need further problems while traveling with this group…

"How about the fact that this is something… spiritual?" Azula said, with a sardonic grin.

"You know, that part's been bugging me too," Toph said, flopped upon the saddle as she was. "The heck does it even mean, a Spirit Library? Are spirits even real?"

"Of course they are!" Aang exclaimed, beaming.

Azula huffed, glancing – despite her better judgment – at Sokka as though to ask if he truly believed such nonsense… only to find a rather surprising, disheartened expression on his face. She frowned: what was that? Melancholy? Misery? Longing? Why would the mention of spirits make him react that way?

He was the one to spot something eventually: a tower in the middle of the desert, apparently. And yet, before long, the group realized the Library was actually underground, somehow. Curious, despite herself, Azula requested that they allowed her inside the Library too: while Katara hesitated at first, Azula agreed to the conditions of being shackled again once they were done climbing inside the building, and to everyone's surprise, she did nothing to hinder their mission – fools that they were, truly, for expecting otherwise. What was she going to achieve by attacking them in the middle of a desert, of all things? So Toph and Appa lingered behind, and the rest of the group entered the tower by climbing through with a rope.

Her initial disbelief was rewarded with the most incredible location she had ever set foot upon, and she had been raised in a Palace, of all things. But nothing was quite so astonishing as the giant owl: Sokka had to clap a hand over her mouth as they hid behind a pillar, hoping not to alert the terrifying otherworldly being of their presence. Alright, fine, spirits were real, and she sure wanted nothing to do with them. Yet the fool professor had ran out and revealed himself… and soon enough Azula caught herself watching as each of them offered knowledge of some sort to the creature. The Avatar's wanted poster had been accepted, though… that rang a bell.

"I'm sorry it's so crumpled," she smiled awkwardly, as she offered the giant owl another wanted poster, this time bearing the faces of her brother and uncle.

"Both of Fire Nation make?" the owl spoke. "Quite an astonishing find. I appreciate these additions to my collection."

Oh, she was saved. She had folded one of those posters carelessly into a pocket a long time ago, and that it was still there was a damn miracle… for, otherwise, she might be doing something even more ridiculous than Sokka's splendid knot. In Azula's opinion, it wasn't all that bad… but the owl was far from impressed.

"You're not very bright, are you?"

Wow. Those were harsh words to speak to someone who was, in her opinion, the second smartest person in this very group. The comment, of course, didn't sit well with the warrior, who scowled as the owl welcomed them into the Library and left them to their own devices.

"Bright enough to fool you," he said, bitterly, before setting out to rummage through the Library's contents.

The owl's comment had unsettled Azula too… though she wasn't entirely sure why it bothered her so much. She felt an impulse to reassure him, even if she wasn't sure it would be welcome: she did think he was smart. If anything, that owl appeared rather foolish to her for not being able to see it. And yet every time she wanted to speak out, she failed to find the strength to utter the words: why? Was it because they were too honest, this time around? What was wrong with her? Was she…?

… She wasn't. There was no way she was developing actual, serious feelings for this boy, was she?

Yet she kept following him through the Library, watching as he stuffed his bag with scrolls, and she watched with curiosity until he shot her a sharp glare.

"What? You think I shouldn't do this?" he asked.

"I wasn't judging you in the least, no," Azula said, blinking blankly. "Did you think I was?"

"… Maybe?" Sokka pouted, skulking towards another area of the Library.

"If anything, I'd think it's fair. After that owl's comment about you, I'd gladly ransack this place, too."

Sokka slowed on his footsteps and glanced at her with uncertainty from over his shoulder. Azula blinked blankly: had she said anything wrong? She had hoped to have conveyed her feelings nonchalantly enough that he might not suspect she had any deep motivations to speak them…

"You… you're really something, huh?" Sokka said, lowering his gaze. "You do remember, right? That… we're supposed to be enemies?"

"You think I'd forget?" she asked, though her heart sank at that question. That had to mean she was developing a stupid, one-sided attachment, right?

"W-well, it's just… when you say stuff like that, I end up thinking, well… stupid things, I guess," Sokka sighed. "Things I shouldn't. Especially not after… everything."

"Everything?" Azula asked, blinking blankly as she stared at his back. "Well… granted we didn't start off with the right foot, but… I thought we were getting along better lately. That you were happy I'd stood between you and an angry moose-lion? I wouldn't be surprised if you decided my being Fire Nation makes all that worthless, but…"

"It doesn't make it worthless, it makes it… complicated," Sokka said, gritting his teeth. "But that's not it. Not really."

"Then…?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I… look, I don't want to talk about this, usually," he said, breathing deeply. "And I don't know if you'd understand, anyway. But I… lost someone. Someone I liked, a lot. It happened in the Siege of the North, and… it still hurts. And sometimes when I look at you, I remember how that felt, and it's great for a second until I suddenly just think…"

"That you shouldn't be feeling this way about anyone else?" Azula ventured, warily. Yet, to her surprise, Sokka shook his head.

"That I shouldn't be feeling this way about someone I'll probably lose too, anyway," he said. "You know why we're here. You know what we're doing. You know I'll fight the Fire Nation, no matter which side you choose to stand on. And… no matter how friendly we've been, you'll choose your own people, won't you? Just… as I'd choose my own, if our situation were reversed somehow. There's… there's no happy ending for this, is there?"

Azula gritted her teeth, frowning… no, no, there wasn't. But… did this mean he liked her too, to a fault? He'd be the first boy to ever… no, the very first person she'd know for a fact had ever liked her, in whatever sense of the word. Was it wrong to fixate upon that now, when he was stating something as important as this? They were enemies, no matter what came next…

For she couldn't turn against her father, could she? She couldn't just become a traitor… she couldn't turn against her people.

Not even for the first boy she had ever grown to like this way.

"I'm not saying we can't be… well… okay, I don't know what we can't be, to be honest," Sokka sighed, turning towards her once she stayed silent for too long. "Or what we can be, either. But you'll want to stop us from attacking your nation, and we just want to set the world free of the Fire Nation's control. We want balance back. And unless you're having second thoughts about your life's mission… I don't know how things will work, from this point onwards."

Azula sighed but shrugged. Sokka gulped as she raised her shackled hands in a gesture of surrender.

"You're not wrong. Not in the least. If you want the truth? I… was trying to get to you. I thought maybe befriending a member of your group would be the best way to break out of this imprisonment, somehow. So… you don't have to worry about a thing. I was completely dishonest the whole time."

"Huh… the whole time?" Sokka asked, though his voice carried a tinge of disappointment that took Azula aback. It wasn't a surprised disappointment… but rather, an expected one.

"You… knew, didn't you? That this was why I…?" Azula said. He shrugged.

"I guessed. I hoped otherwise, but… what's the point?" he smiled sadly, shrugging again. "That… makes it easier, doesn't it? Because the whole time, I knew that was probably what you were after, so…"

"So, we were on the same page" Azula determined. Sokka nodded, too.

"Good thing we cleared the air," he said. She nodded.

"Then, I… will leave you to your research, whatever it may be," she said, simply. "I… will go do something else, in the meantime."

She walked away quickly, wondering if he'd call for her or stop her, anything dramatic and apparently romantic as that… and of course, it didn't happen. Ugh, she was an idiot. She was an idiot. Her heart was beating so sadly… why would a heart beat sadly? That made no sense! And yet each miserable beat seemed to propel nothing but misery through her system. Idiot… she really had grown fond of him. Too fond. What was wrong with her? What kind of fool grew to like the person who had taken them captive?

But she knew why… she did. He was the first person to laugh loudly at her jokes, and his smiles were the warmest that had ever been directed towards her. He was sharp, just as she was… he was strategic, cold-blooded, analytical. All of that sat well with her. Too well, if anything. But perhaps that was wrong, wasn't it? It had to be. Surely their similarities, the ones she had been surprised to discover existed between them, weren't all that strong in the end… or, if they were, weren't conducive to a good relationship. Yes, that was it. That was certainly the likeliest of truths. But… it wouldn't hurt to confirm it.

The disaster began when she was halfway through scouring across the romance section, seeking any books or scrolls on compatibility: the building trembled suddenly, and sand leaked through the walls. The whole group seemed ready to scram, and she caught up with them… just in time for Sokka and Aang to race back inside, and for Katara and the damn professor to stay behind.

"What is going on?!" Azula asked. Katara gasped, eyeing her warily.

"And to think… I took for granted you'd be the one to cause more trouble around here!" she admitted, with an apologetic grimace. "Run! We have to keep him distracted!"

"The giant OWL?!" Azula asked, astonished. Katara huffed.

"Who else?!" she asked.

Azula huffed, wondering what to do. There had to be a strong enough distraction, something that the creature would be too incensed by to remember it was chasing any of them…

Oh. Well, that was a risky gambit, but it was worth trying anyway.

"Katara! Remove these shackles, now!"

* * *

"Are you sure about what you were saying before you found that paper, Sokka?" Aang asked, as they moved the dials of the calendar in the planetarium room. "I know what you mean that it's probably better to let her go, but… are you really sure? You seem to really get along with Azula!"

"And that's going to be a problem in the future, don't you think?!" Sokka squeaked, eyeing the dials anxiously – not close enough, another attempt, maybe the next date would do…

"Well… I don't know how it's not going to be one, if anything," Aang said. Sokka scowled.

"What'd you mean by…? Oh, we're close!" he exclaimed. "Next one!"

"I mean… you're already so worried about her that you're pulling away in fear of getting hurt, or hurting her!" Aang said. "You really think seeing her off will change that? You're still going to care, if we bump into her in a battlefield! That's not going to change now!"

Sokka gritted his teeth and eyed Aang with uncertainty as he pulled the lever one last time. Why was that little guy so wise when he shouldn't be? Yes, at this point, he'd definitely hesitate if he found Azula in a battlefield. He'd never have the guts to go through with fighting her at his best… and then she'd kill him, surely, because she was raised to uphold her nation above all else. There was no reason for her to hold back… especially when her apparent interest in him had been feigned just to obtain a fleeting friendship that would buy her way out of the group.

Which… he had been about to give her.

Was he really about to give the girl the chance to fulfill her plan perfectly?

"It's this one, Sokka! Look, it matches!"

He hadn't even noticed the planetarium's lights were dimmer this time. He made sure to jot down the right date for the eclipse and then he dragged Aang out of the room at haste… only to find something was very, very wrong in the Library now.

"YOU MONSTERS! CRIMINALS! YOU DEFILE MY VAST COLLECTION FOR THE LAST TIME!"

"What…?" Aang gasped: the owl's voice seemed to come from the lowest depths of the Library. Was he truly down there, rather than chasing Katara up here?

They reached the landing where they'd left the rope… to find only Katara and Zei nearby. Sokka's heart nearly stopped.

"Where's Azula?!"

"She's…!" Katara grimaced, glancing downwards…

An inferno of orange flames burned brightly down below. Aang and Sokka gasped: they had found out about the burning of the Library's collection of the Fire Nation… and they knew exactly how angry Wan Shi Tong would be upon losing more of his collection now.

"What…?! What's she doing, hell…?!" Sokka exclaimed, clasping the railings of the Library's topmost floor glancing down at the inferno below before shouting: "AZULA!"

He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it: a sudden speck of blue in the sea of orange took him by surprise, more so when it continued to increase in size, constantly: was she jetting herself out of the Library's basement?

"She's coming back! Oh, she's actually…!" Katara gasped.

"We need to get out of here!" Aang said, unfolding his glider. "Grab onto the rope, Katara, Sokka, Professor Zei! I'll fly us all out as fast as I can!"

"Oh, but…" the professor hesitated… when there was no time to hesitate at all: Sokka and Katara clasped the rope they'd used earlier, glancing at the man in chagrin. "I won't find another collection like this. I'd much rather stay…"

"Are you kidding me…?!" Sokka exclaimed, but Katara gritted her teeth and urged him to grab onto the rope tight… for Aang was pulling at it already. "Professor Zei! You're going to die if you stay there!"

"Sokka, there's no point…" Katara said, gritting her teeth as they flew off… as the rope dangled before Zei, and he refused to take it.

And it turned out to be a good thing, for by the time Aang, Katara and Sokka had only just reached the exit, Azula was about to catch up to them: half the rope caught fire, and she nearly tore the whole window to shambles when her explosive firebending brought her out of the Library in a hurry.

She tried to ease her fall into the sand, but it wasn't easy. She could hear Sokka calling for her – was he for real? Was he really worried about her…? Oh dear, why was her heart beating that much faster upon that thought…? – but the adrenaline and the excitement over what she'd done was still bursting through her as she landed rather wildly on the sand. It hurt, she was definitely going to bear a few nasty bruises… but she'd be okay. She'd distracted the damn owl, and now…

"Azula!"

Two hands caught her shoulders, and suddenly she was being hugged. Hugged. When the blazes had someone hugged her this tightly, this intimately before?

Surely Katara could tell this was a rather awkward situation for her, as she returned Azula's near-frightened gaze with her own… though Aang wasn't quite so interested in whatever was happening with them. No, he had much bigger concerns in mind, for now that the Library was gone, there was no one but them and Toph in the wide expanse of the desert:

"Where's Appa?"

* * *

If she'd decided to bet on it, she would've sooner thought the first member of this strange team to lose its mind and decide to lash out at everyone aggressively would be the damn lemur.

That Aang would be distraught by the loss of his bison wasn't quite that impossible to understand. That he would unleash that frustration upon his friends, though, took Azula by surprise: even goody-two-shoes like him had dark sides, then? And yet he hadn't even asked about whether or not she was okay after her rough landing, disregarding how Sokka had demanded she was kept unshackled before helping her walk through the desert, an arm around her waist, and also disregarding Azula's rejection of Katara's offer for waterbending healing, for the Princess suspected that, without the damn massive hairy creature, they'd be stuck in a desert for eons, and wasting what little water they had on healing a few bruises seemed a bad idea.

And where she had expected Sokka to push her away, now he seemed to be doing the exact opposite. Why? It made no sense. Not that she needed it to, she rather liked being held by him… somewhat. She guessed. It was comfortable. That was all there was to it. Yet their last conversation hadn't been that friendly, and now he seemed to be protecting her with all his might…?

"Are you… alright?" she asked him. Sokka blinked blankly and gazed at her with unexpected shyness. "You're being, well…"

"I'm trying to help. I mean… it's my fault you set the Library on fire," Sokka grimaced. "And then you got hurt. I… I'm sorry."

"Ah? Then going back inside instead of running away when the damn building started to sink was your idea?" Azula said, huffing sarcastically. "Had I known it was you and not Aang I wouldn't have burned anything at all…"

He laughed and shook his head, and she smiled. It was weird… but it felt like they were back on track, suddenly. Maybe they wouldn't become anything else… but this was fine. This worked, for now.

Of course, what was happening with the rest of the team was a whole different story: Toph was riddled with guilt over not being able to stop the sandbenders from stealing Appa, Katara was confused over whatever was brewing between her brother and Azula, but more than that, she was aghast by Aang's terrible mood, too. He had taken to gliding frantically, searching for the bison to no avail. The sandbenders were gone… as was his best friend.

"Katara, can I have some more water?" Toph asked, suddenly. Katara warned her against consuming too much of it, and Azula agreed, silently, despite she accepted the small amount of water Katara offered each of them through her bending.

"Can't be that healthy to drink someone's bending water, huh…?" Sokka reasoned, before making a face of disgust. "Ugh! You used this on the swamp guy!"

"No wonder it tastes swampy," Toph said.

"Well, there's not much I can do about that. We can't find much water around here, can we?" Katara said, gazing around at the endless expanse of desert before them…

"Maybe we can!" Sokka exclaimed suddenly, beaming. "Look!"

He grinned before releasing Azula from his hold just to rush towards a cactus he'd spotted not too far from where they stood. Well, there was water inside plants, why deny that? And yet…

"You shouldn't eat strange plants, Sokka!" Katara told him: Sokka had already taken to slicing the cactus with his weapons, though, offering her a glimpse of the watery interior.

"I know it's not every day this happens… but I agree with Katara for once," Azula said, watching Sokka with uncertainty: Momo had taken to drinking with him, of course… that damn creature was a menace, Azula was certain of it.

"It's very thirst quenching, Azula!" Sokka grinned, motioning at her to approach him. "Come on, it'll do wonders for you, especially after all you bent in the…"

He stopped talking suddenly, only for his body to start reacting rather weirdly to the juice he'd just ingested: his pupils dilated, he shook his head violently, he smiled awkwardly, some of the juice trickled down to his chin…

"Drink cactus juice! It'll quench ya'! It's the quenchiest!"

Both Azula and Katara stared at him in chagrin… while Toph merely raised her eyebrows, entirely confused by what her feet were sensing: was Sokka waggling like a worm on the sand, for some reason…?

"Okay, that's definitely too much for you," said Katara, grimacing. "We have to keep moving on."

"Hey, who lit Toph on fire?" Sokka asked suddenly, before turning towards Azula. "It was YOU?!"

"U-uh, no? I didn't light anything on fire…! In the last, uh, two hours?" Azula said, blinking blankly…

And yet Sokka didn't seem to be all that appalled by the notion of her setting anything on fire. Instead, he was smiling brightly at her, and that only felt more ominous than anything else.

"You know what?!" he exclaimed. "Your fire's WATER TRIBE! Can you believe that, huh, huh?! You're Water Tribe, deep down! I knew that was why I got you so well, eh, eh, Azula?! You're like… wham! And I'm just… whosh! I melt in your hands, girl!"

"You… what? I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say… and I'm not sure I want to," Azula swallowed hard, as Sokka waved his arms around recklessly.

"Oh, you know what I'm saying! You should marry me!"

The words stunned the three girls, outright. Sokka only smiled carelessly… while the lemur twitched awkwardly behind him. Azula's face was rather red now… and not precisely because of the sunburns a whole day in the desert would result in.

"Y-y-you… that's not a proposal, is it? Or is…?" Azula said, blinking blankly.

"You know what? I want some of that cactus thing," Toph decided, beaming. Katara flinched.

"Not a chance, Toph. I think one love-crazed, cactus-addled weirdo is enough for today…"

"Hey! I'm not in love with any of you, I won't start proposing willy-nilly…"

Azula stared at Sokka again, utterly blown away by their words: in love…? Was Sokka…? No. That wasn't right. That made no sense. That was just a weird joke between friends, wasn't it…? Just as the jokes she'd usually pull on Zuko and Mai back when they were kids…? For they couldn't be serious. Sokka couldn't be serious. The cactus juice was messing with his head… or was it making him more honest than he was before?

Suddenly, a gust of wind, and a rush of sand dust, startled the whole group: they turned towards its source to find it appeared something had exploded deeper in the desert, perhaps, by the pattern of the shifting sand…

"What's that?" Katara asked.

"N-no idea," Azula mumbled, quickly. It was a good idea to change the subject, yes. Weird sand clouds were much more intriguing and important than whether Sokka loved her or not…

"It's a giant mushroom! Maybe it's friendly!"

… Upon hearing those words, Azula's mild suspicions that maybe he was serious about his proposal went up in smoke, vanishing without trace, much as the giant mushroom had.

"Shouldn't have given you that much credit," Azula sighed, looking at Sokka. "Hey. We should get moving. No point in admiring the mushroom anymore."

"Oh! Okay! Let's do something else now!" Sokka decided, beaming.

She didn't foolishly believe she could anticipate to any of Sokka's weird decisions or words while he was in this strange, intoxicated state…

… And yet she never would have expected his new idea would be to kiss her.

Her face flushed red violently, more so when she heard Katara gasping behind her.

"Is he waving at the giant mushroom again…?" Toph asked, but Katara didn't appear to want to respond… not even when Sokka pulled away at last, beaming.

"You taste better than cactus juice!" he declared.

"Y-you…! T-that was my first…!" she exclaimed, blushing madly as she covered her mouth with her hands. "You're…! At the very least you should've had the decency to do that while you were on your right mind!"

"Oh, you didn't like it?" Sokka asked, blinking blankly as he tilted his head sideways. "Must be you need to drink cactus juice too! It's the quenchi-…!"

Azula smacked the small plant bowl he'd held in his hand so far, doing away with the remaining cactus juice, and Sokka gasped, digging at the sand desperately as though searching for the now lost liquid that had leaked through the ground.

"Nooooo! We're dooooomed!" he exclaimed. Despite the situation had been rather strange, Katara laughed softly now, and Azula only rolled her eyes and scowled at the foolish boy she certainly liked far better than she ever should have.

Yet as difficult as it was to navigate the desert for hours with an awkwardly rambling companion such as Sokka, it seemed to Azula his nonsense made the matter livelier, kisses or no… especially when Aang returned. He had been rather unpleasant about collecting water from a cloud that crossed the sky, right under the moon… namely because he had hopelessly thought it was his bison. Yet Azula's attention was caught by something else: Sokka's comment.

"Why would Princess Yue need Appa? She's the moon! She flies by herself!"

She had read reports of what had happened up north. Her father had briefed her of it directly, too. At one point, the moon had been blocked, its influence faded, all because of Admiral Zhao's decisions, apparently… she had thought it was a nonsensical claim, for waterbenders losing their power completely? It sounded like a rather helpful phenomenon, but a confusing one too. How had it come to pass at all…? Especially when it hadn't lasted very long, too: the waterbenders were back on track not long after, and the battle was lost.

According to her father, Admiral Zhao meant to destroy the Moon Spirit that day. Whatever that meant. She had given the matter little credit at the time, but was the Moon Spirit this Princess Yue…?

She resolved to ask Katara once they had a chance to take a light break, upon bumping into a sand glider that Aang helped steer most unwillingly. The waterbender was busy watching the compass, ensuring their course was true, and Azula offered to support her with that, for it was better to talk to someone rational than to talk to Sokka right now…

"What, exactly, happened with this Princess Yue?" she asked. Katara froze, glancing at her warily.

"You're wondering… why, exactly?" she asked.

"He brought up that he lost someone before. He didn't elaborate," Azula explained. "I didn't know what he meant, but… it surprised me a little to hear him talk about the Northern Water Tribe's Princess."

"Well… Sokka had a thing for her," Katara said. Azula damn near cursed herself for feeling disappointed upon hearing those words, even if she already knew them to be true. "But she was supposed to marry someone else? And yeah, I do think she liked him too, but… then she became the moon and there was no way they'd be together anymore."

"She became… the moon?" Azula said, with an awkward grin.

"She explained that she was stillborn," Katara said. "And then the Moon Spirit touched her when she was a baby: it brought her to life or so. When Zhao killed the Moon Spirit, she gave her own life to remediate things… she took the Moon Spirit's place and sacrificed herself to save everyone."

"And… she left Sokka? Just like that?" Azula asked, puzzled. Katara shrugged.

"She had a duty. He understood," Katara said, simply.

A duty. A duty to her people… to fulfill what was expected from her. And in the process, she had surely broken the heart of the boy she liked, even if she had never meant to.

No wonder Sokka had claimed to be ready to let her go even before anything serious started between them, too.

He was still his most carelessly goofy self as they traveled across the desert, but Azula found herself looking at him with different eyes now. How odd that a young man with such heavy burdens could be so reckless and silly when he wanted to… her lips still tingled where he'd kissed them. Ugh, it wasn't something she should be thinking about fondly, of course not… but that he might truly like her was still a most dazzling concept, one she wasn't sure how to cope with yet, let alone now that she understood the true source of his apprehensions.

She ended up finding a way to cope with it by watching over him once they stopped at a massive rock their compass led them to: Sokka claimed he felt better, but upon attempting to taste a gross substance on the wall, Azula decided he simply wasn't recovered yet. She slapped his hand violently and he gasped as she pulled him towards her.

"No eating weird sticky nonsense that's stuck to a cavern's walls!" she growled. He blinked blankly, staring into her eyes with innocent confusion.

"Why not…?" he said.

"Because if that tastes like crap and you kiss me again, I'll set you on fire," Azula declared.

"And I don't think anyone will stop her this time, Sokka," Katara smirked. Toph snickered too as Sokka winced… and yet he found Azula had taken his hand in hers, pulling him through the cavern with her.

"You're just… going to hold my hand now?"

"I can't trust you to behave yourself if I don't," Azula said, curtly, hoping not to betray just how nervous she was about acting this way…

Yet she could see, from the corner of her eyes, when Sokka bit his lip and smiled. Was he happy to hold her hand…? Or was he simply happy that someone was looking after him so closely, protecting him, when he was always the protector…?

She couldn't help but continue defending him once the buzzard wasps attacked: she shielded him with her body, even using her fire to chase away the beasts. Busy as she was ensuring the groggy Sokka wasn't hurt, she couldn't do anything to protect the damn lemur – she KNEW he'd be trouble eventually, damn little thing – when one of the buzzard wasps took him away. Katara was busy serving as Toph's eyes, just as Azula had taken to shielding Sokka herself, so it was Aang who saved him… rather violently too. But when the Avatar and the lemur returned to the team, and the buzzard wasps appeared to gear up to continue their attacks, towers of sand chased away the creatures… and that was when the sandbenders had appeared.

Tired as she was, puzzled by too many things at once, Azula barely paid attention to the exchange, checking on Sokka to ensure he was okay… and then the most terrifying of all moments began when the Avatar lost his temper completely.

This time, however, Sokka took to protecting her: he had seen this before, Azula realized. He collected Toph too, one arm around each of them, and helped them get away from the whirlwind of wild sand, stirred by the savagely furious Avatar. It was a display of power unlike anything Azula had seen, and she could barely take her eyes away from him: he had been so small, so innocent in her eyes, merely twenty-four hours ago… and suddenly he was the most punishing force of nature she had ever witnessed. Suddenly he wasn't just a symbol of everything her father had raised her to defeat, a potentially dangerous bender… no, he was already as dangerous as he pleased. And, as powerful as Fire Lord Ozai was… could he ever go against someone with such unnatural, otherworldly bending and win? Even if he was but a twelve-year-old boy?

Somehow, Katara managed to calm him down, if it could be called that. All the while, Sokka held Azula closely, her face pressed against his chest, his heartbeats reassuring her, despite she was anything but soothed… despite she suddenly found her world had taken yet another tumble on that chaotic, catastrophic day, and she wasn't sure how she'd compose it, or herself, ever again.

* * *

Finding water again was so refreshing, and drinking it cleared his mind completely, it seemed to Sokka. Katara was far more cheerful now, though that she decided to jump into the water by doing what she had called a "waterbending bomb" was probably not the best use of her improved mood – she soaked the maps Sokka had stolen from the Library, and she had to dry them under her brother's fierce glare.

All the while, though, one member of their group was unexpectedly aloof… and perhaps self-conscious. She had washed, rinsing off the dirt and dust from days on the road, but she hadn't joined the others at playing in the water. Sokka had expected her to join him in deciding which route to take to Ba Sing Se, where they hoped to find Appa… but so far, nothing. She had never been this distant, and she sat at a distance as a group of refugees, passing through the area, offered them useful information regarding a secret way into Ba Sing Se that the Fire Nation was fully unaware of. Even once they started on their way to Full Moon Bay, she was quiet and distant still, walking at some distance from the rest of the group.

"Say, uh… you two talked a bunch, while I was cactus-juice addled?" Sokka asked his sister casually, once he pulled her away from chatting with the refugees they'd just met. "I think, at least? I don't really remember most of what happened anymore, but…"

"Ah, you're not sure why she's being all that distant and weird now? Probably because you kissed her without permission," Katara declared, beaming. Sokka's jaw dropped. "Not that I know for sure if she's mad about that, but you know… surely doesn't help much, does it?"

"I…! Oh, no. She'll hate me now, won't she?" he groaned. "But… wait, when did I do that, again?"

"At the start? You'd just drank the damn thing and then you said you melted in her hands? You were being really weird about her," Katara said, smirking. Sokka raised an eyebrow in Katara's direction.

"And that… somehow doesn't bother you that much?" he asked. "I thought you didn't like her."

"Well, it's hard not to like the only other person who wasn't completely helpless while we traveled through the desert," Katara sighed. "Besides… I mean, yeah, she wasn't nice at first, and she did chase us, but she's definitely never done anything as bad as Zuko did. She's been with us for a while, she's not chained down anymore, and she's still done nothing to hurt any of us. I don't know, Sokka… maybe she's not that bad."

"I agree," he said, smiling at her. "I… I really think she isn't, either. Though, well, I guess we could be wrong. But the way she helped distract that owl, and she's tried to help keep me safe so many times… it's weird, you know? She jumps in front of me all the time…"

"She probably likes you too, see?" said Katara, smirking. "Which… I guess, from a rational point of view, it might not be a great thing? I mean, I know why you'd be apprehensive, Sokka, and if you think this isn't worth trying it's okay, but… I'd expected worse from the Fire Lord's daughter."

"Yeah… me too," Sokka smiled, glancing at the Princess, who walked far ahead of him and Katara.

"Just… talk to her? I guess?" said Katara, shrugging. "Maybe you still have a shot, somehow."

"Even if I kissed her when I shouldn't have, huh…?" he mused.

There were several reasons why he wasn't all that sure about this… and yet whenever he thought back to the past weeks of being allied with Azula, he couldn't help but feel warmth nestling in his chest. She was something else, wasn't she? And he… he was very much attached to her now, whether it was wise or not. Whether he had tried to push her away or not. And if he ever kissed her again… well, he'd make sure it was the right way, this time around.

He decided to talk to her once they reached the ferry station: Azula had been unusually quiet so far, and he guessed it was time he apologized for the cactus juice mess, anyway.

"Uh… hey, Azula?" he called her, unusually shyly, as they lagged behind at the end of their group: the station was very crowded, but they managed to find the line to request for passports anyway. "I, uh, wanted to say I was sorry for troubling you back in the desert. I didn't mean to, but… I guess I did a lot of things I shouldn't have."

"Oh?" Azula raised her eyebrows, intrigued by his words. "Such as…?"

"W-well… I shouldn't have had cactus juice, for starters," he smiled awkwardly. "And I shouldn't have, well, kissed you without asking…?"

"Without… asking?" Azula repeated. Sokka's face flushed. "So… you think it's fine if you ask?"

"W-well! Only if you say I can, even if I ask. T-that is. Well. I think so?" he said, swallowing hard.

Azula blinked blankly at the taller boy. He was so nervous… so endearing, too. She certainly didn't expect to grow genuinely fond of him, and she had resisted the notion for a while… but she was inevitably interested in him now. And his babbling wasn't helping matters at all.

"Hmm… well. I guess… I'll have to think on that permission, then. Just as that woman seems to be thinking about ours," Azula said, grimacing. "If only this were the Fire Nation, we'd be on a ferry by now just because I'm here…"

"Heh, yeah. No doubt," Sokka smiled awkwardly. "Though… we should try to not let anyone know you're Fire Nation, you know? A lot of people here probably were fleeing the consequences of the war, and if they knew…"

"Ah, true enough. Can you lend me your clothes?"

Sokka froze in place, staring at Azula in disbelief as she smirked teasingly at him. Yet she didn't take her words back.

"I mean… you lent me your sleeping bag before. I suppose your clothes will be smelly too… but no one would assume I'm Fire Nation Royalty if I'm smelly, right?" she said. Sokka's face was redder and redder by the minute.

She couldn't help but laugh as he failed to find words to respond with. Flustered as he was, he stared at her with disbelieving amazement, ignoring that Toph was securing passports for them to cross Full Moon Bay… and also ignoring that someone had walked up to him suddenly.

Azula frowned when the female guard suddenly forced Sokka to turn towards her: she was immediately tempted to jump between them, again finding protective instincts triggered when Sokka was concerned… did that guard think he was a criminal? Did they realize that whatever story Toph had fed the woman at the passport counter was bullshit…?

"Tickets and passports," said the girl. Sokka blinked blankly, inching away from her.

"Uh… I don't have mine right now. Go ask our, uh, team leader? Toph, over there," he said, before turning to Azula again. "Y-you don't really… I mean, if you'd told me you wanted to wear my clothes I would've washed them more thoroughly! We were at that waterfall, it would've been a good idea…"

"I was… messing with you," Azula said, smiling awkwardly: the girl behind Sokka appeared utterly perplexed by how he'd disregarded her words… and by the contents of the ones he was saying to his companion, too. "Is something wrong?"

"U-uh, no, I mean… no," said the girl, smiling dryly. Sokka glanced at her once more and she bit her lip. "You really… don't remember me?"

"… Am I supposed to?" he said, with an awkward smile. "Sorry?"

Azula covered her mouth with a hand, attempting not to laugh too boldly as the guard grimaced and sighed, walking away, defeated by Sokka's apparent forgetfulness. He turned towards Azula again, utterly perplexed.

"I… don't know what that was about," he said. "B-but anyway…!"

"I only hope she's not someone you kissed once too and then proceeded to forget about for no reason," Azula smiled. Sokka scoffed.

"Hell, no! I'm sure I don't know her!" he declared, pouting. "I've never seen that face before!"

And it wasn't a lie, not truly: never seeing Suki without Kyoshi Warrior makeup certainly hadn't prepared him for recognizing her without it – or without stronger clues aside from that confusing teasing.

The mood between Sokka and Azula appeared to make more sense now, although the underlying tension remained: Azula wasn't happy, however, when Aang determined they would give up their comfortable trips on the ferry for the sake of traveling across the dangerous Serpent's Pass with the same refugees from before. Sokka appeared just as miserable about the loss of their tickets and passports… and just as paranoid about the Serpent's Pass once they started to traverse it: at one point rocks nearly crushed them, and he shielded Azula with his body while Toph spared them from the falling rocks.

"Thanks, Toph…" Azula said, trying not to be flustered as Sokka pulled away slightly.

"U-uh… didn't mean to… yeah. Well. You're okay, though… right?" he said, biting his lip. Azula nodded weakly.

"You two need to climb a tree," Toph sighed shaking her head. The two of them shot her a confused glance. "You know? That song, people climb trees and make out there or whatever…?"

"Toph!"

She whistled carelessly as she walked past them, leaving Sokka and Azula flustered before each other. It wasn't enough, of course, that things were slightly awkward between them… their friends, naturally, had to make it worse.

But not a lot could make matters worse for Azula, as things stood. Once they made camp at last, in the middle of the night, she sat gazing into the line of the horizon, where the dark sky and the Mo Ce Sea seemed to merge together. The moon, Yue, as she'd finally come to know, hovered there… perhaps watching. Perhaps wondering if she could be half as good for that boy as she might have been. Perhaps knowing that Azula was plagued by the exact same conflict that had stolen her away from him…

And just thinking about him seemed to summon him: Sokka bit his lip as he took his seat beside her. He cleared his throat awkwardly before finally blurting out the actual words he'd wanted to say all day.

"What's bothering you?"

Azula raised her eyebrows and glanced at him. Awkward as he was, his eyes were full of concern.

"I… just can tell you're not okay. You're really quiet, and… well, I guess maybe it's because of how things turned out at the Library? Maybe it's because you don't want to enter an Earth Kingdom city…"

"There's a lot of reasons why I'm not okay," Azula said, simply, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her fingertips. "But… I guess the moon up there is the bigger one."

"The… moon?" Sokka said, gulping. "Huh… you talked to Katara about Yue, didn't you?"

"I'm not going to be an unreasonable asshole… I won't say that because I fancy you, you should've never had any history with anyone else before you met me," Azula said, with a sad grin. "If that's what you thought, anyway. But… I think once she told me about this, I understood. She's the reason why you tried to push me away in the Library, isn't she?"

"N-not for the reasons you might think," Sokka said, gritting his teeth. "It's not that I… that I don't like you as much as I did her, or anything like that. I just…"

"You don't want to lose anyone else the same way you did her. And you'd lose me, for sure."

Sokka gritted his teeth, his fists tightening. Azula breathed out slowly, gazing at the sky.

"I've gotten too caught up in this weird adventure," she said. "It's… nothing like I'd anticipated my first big mission would turn out. I thought I'd be successful, that I'd catch my brother and uncle, defeat the Avatar, overtake the whole Earth Kingdom singlehandedly… and so far, none of that has happened. Instead… I became a prisoner. And I… ended up befriending my captors, to the point where… where I don't even try to run away despite I'm no longer in chains."

"It wasn't that bad, though, was it?" Sokka asked.

"No. But it will be bad, in the future," she said, gazing at him earnestly. "I don't know what I mean to you… but I do know that I'm not much better than your Princess Yue. My loyalty is for my nation. I… I intend to fight by my father's side. Even if we're friends… even if we're more than that, as soon as I can find anyone trustworthy, I'd double-cross you. And then we'd be back to being enemies. And…"

"And?" Sokka said, his voice sad… though he was immediately alarmed by the chagrin on Azula's face.

"And… your Avatar? He… he's going to kill my father, isn't he?"

The question took Sokka by surprise. His eyes widened… for he had never thought of the Fire Lord as someone's father. As someone anyone genuinely cared about. And yet Azula's anguished face spoke lengths about how much he meant to her.

"It doesn't matter how hard we fight, how we push to win the war… I saw what he did when he lost his temper with those sandbenders," Azula said, gritting her teeth. "Not even with Sozin's Comet's return will we be able to stop him if he's trained enough by then. There's… there's no point, There's no happy ending, you said it yourself. And with him… I'll go down, too."

"N-no! No, Aang would never…!" Sokka started, but he froze: yes, Aang would have to kill Fire Lord Ozai, he had always assumed as much. Defeating him would likely require more than just demanding for his surrender. There was no chance in hell Ozai would step down for less than death… and yet: "He'd never hurt you. He'd never be able to hurt someone who was his friend."

"Not even if that friend is fighting alongside a man who'd do a lot worse to him than steal his sky bison?" Azula asked, eyeing Sokka in disbelief. "On top of that, I… I don't even know how I'll ever… how I'll ever fight you guys, if it comes to that. Any of you. I've learned so much about your skills, your abilities, your strengths and weaknesses… and I don't want to even picture going against you anymore. I…"

"Then don't picture it. Don't oppose us!" Sokka said, reaching for her hands with his. Azula blinked at the contact and gazed at him in confused disbelief. "Look… you don't want your dad to die? I get that. I don't want mine to die either. Granted, the war's not my dad's fault but… never mind, that's not the point! The thing is… Aang is a pacifist. He's a good kid. If it comes to it, maybe he won't want to kill your dad at all, and he'll find another way. We can all find other ways! You… you know him. You know your father better than anyone! If you want things to change, if you don't want us to defeat your nation, then… help us!"

"How does that make any sense…?" Azula asked, Sokka shook his head.

"Work with us," Sokka said. "See the world with us. Understand how many mistakes the Fire Nation made. And then, when we go see the Fire Lord… you can help him see reason. And if he won't? Then… we can try to defeat him without killing him. And you can take his place."

"I… what?!" Azula exclaimed. Her sadness was now replaced by utter disbelief. Sokka smiled awkwardly.

"Look… this is crazy, you and me. Maybe it's… too fast? Though, it was really fast with me and Yue too, so I don't know how to go slow, if anything" he chuckled "But I don't know how I'd fight against you either… not for real. I want you on my team. I want to be in yours. And heck… as big and burly and strong as the Fire Nation has tried to be, if you can tell already that the Avatar is going to overcome everything and bring back balance, what's the point of fighting? Your people will pay the price if the war continues to escalate and if Aang's involved, it will be turned against the Fire Nation eventually, just as it was in the North Pole. There can be a happy ending, Azula, if the war just… ends. If we don't have to go that far to make it stop. Look, I hate your dad… but if you can make him pull back his army and make amends as best he can for all the harm he and his forefathers did, I'd never ask for his death. I wouldn't need it. I don't need him to die, I just… I just need the world to make sense again. I just need a world where people don't have to die like Yue did. A world where… where I wouldn't lose you the way I lost her."

Azula didn't say anything for a moment, despite Sokka was gazing at her intensely, holding her hand as he was. He bit his lip at her silence, unsure of what to do… until she leaned closer, her lips hovering inches from his…

And then she lowered her head, pressing her face to his shoulder instead. Sokka bit his lip as her hand tightened around his, as her eyes closed tightly.

"You don't have to make a choice right away, right now," Sokka whispered, his thumb stroking the back of her hand. "But… you can choose anyway. Whatever Aang says or thinks… as far as I'm concerned, destiny can change if you want it to. If you fight to make it so."

Destiny…? Was that truly what guided them? Was there a force that kept them locked into set decisions and choices… or were they altering the world with each new step they took to oppose what was expected of them?

Azula raised her gaze, finding Sokka still watched her. She gritted her teeth before leaning in far more decisively: her lips brushed his lightly, and this time he kissed her wholeheartedly, no longer in as clumsy and silly a manner as he had while drinking cactus juice. That had still thrilled her when it happened, despite she hadn't wanted to feel giddy about it… but this? His arms held her closer, and her heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst from her chest. She liked this… she liked him. She really liked him.

Maybe she felt something stronger than that, even. For it seemed so did he.

She probably should have been losing her mind about how absurd it was to fall in love with the enemy. About how ridiculous it was to find herself so appealed by a Water Tribesman she had barely known for a few weeks. About how outrageous it would be that the exemplary, ideal Princess Azula had cast everything into the wind, forsaking all notions of being saved, of being found, of being her father's perfect child and heir… but somehow, the heart she had kept in check for so long was beating powerfully anew, filling her very soul with emotions and feelings that floored her. Emotions that she had thought she'd never feel… let alone for someone who embodied everything she should have never loved at all.

And yet that didn't stop her from falling asleep holding his hand that night. It didn't stop her from walking with him the next day, sharing awkward smiles, as she pondered her future some more. As she reasoned that there were so many choices left ahead of her: she could still push him away, if anything compelled her to… she could run away in Ba Sing Se, if she wanted to. Just so… she could stay, if she wanted to.

Granted, things weren't quite so cheerful anymore when the giant serpent attacked. That was quite the disaster: Toph fell into the water, leading both Sokka and Azula to jump in for her and swim her back to safety while Aang and Katara deflected the giant creature's attacks and ensured the refugees got through safely. And then? Then the pregnant one decided it was the ideal time to have her baby. Yes, of course Azula knew that wasn't something anyone just decides on, but she couldn't have picked a worse timing… yet huddling together with Sokka as they dried up after their incursion in the water wasn't the worst thing ever. And while the Avatar had still been somewhat miserable, it seemed he was far happier once Katara finished helping deliver the baby, and things should have moved along better from that point onwards, as they escorted the refugees to the city itself…

Until Aang saw the drill.

She knew what it was as soon as he described it. She knew exactly what was happening: it was a stratagem her father had plotted and concocted from a long time ago, commissioned to the inventor who had taken up refuge in the Northern Air Temple. It was on its way to tear down Ba Sing Se's walls, and it would breach all the way to the Earth Kingdom's Palace if it was uncontested… and it would be. It would be.

It was a won battle already. There was no way the five of them could stop them… and did she even want to stop them?

They climbed the Outer Wall and watched how Earth Kingdom troops were fighting back; the very sight of them told Azula she would have to make her choice far sooner than Sokka had intended her to. He eyed her with uncertainty often, though he didn't reveal his doubts… despite Azula could see in Aang, Katara and Toph's expressions that they were doubting, just as much as he was. It was the first time she had confronted her own nation by their side… and for all they knew, she would turn the fight around and help her nation, instead.

The so-called Terra Team attacked the drill relentlessly, but to no avail: their earthbending would never withstand the drill's might. The tanks that accompanied the drill had been cast away quickly, or so the earthbenders had believed, but they retaliated before long. And while the earthbenders fought fiercely, and defeated some of the firebenders, in the end their resistance amounted to nothing.

"So, the question is…" Aang said. "How are we going to stop that thing?"

All eyes turned towards Sokka, who had been studying the drill intently. He blinked blankly upon sensing he was being watched.

"Why are you all looking at me?" he said, grimacing.

"Because you're the idea guy," Aang answered, quickly.

"Oh, so I'm the only one can come up with a plan?" he retorted.

Well, no, no he wasn't the only one. But no one had asked her yet. And she wondered briefly if no one would.

"Azula?"

It was, of course, Sokka who called her name. He eyed her hopelessly, despite his tone seemed to suggest he clung to some sort of hope, regardless. The others watched him intently, and the Fire Nation Princess waited quietly for him to finish what he was saying.

"Do you know anything about this thing? Anything about how we can defeat it?" Sokka asked. Azula breathed deeply and raised her eyebrows, holding off from answering for almost ten whole, endless seconds:

"I might," she finally said. Sokka's eyes widened as the rest of the group gasped.

"Please, tell us!" Aang said, stepping towards her. "So many people will be in danger if we do nothing… Azula, I know you were our prisoner, but now? You're our friend. Please… help us save Ba Sing Se."

Her fist tightened. She frowned heavily. Cornered, forced to make up her mind, just as she was trying to enjoy the freedom of having a choice… brilliant.

"There's only one way to take down that thing," Azula said, dismissively. "And it's from within. We need to get inside the drill."

"Wait… we?" Sokka said, blinking blankly. Azula huffed, raising her eyebrows.

"Did you think you'd do this without me? That I'd sit out on my own plan?" she asked.

"Well… no. But, you know, you don't really have to join in if you don't want to," said Sokka, swallowing hard. "I know this isn't, well, anything you wanted to do, so…"

"Not like I have much of a choice anymore, do I?" Azula said, bluntly.

She proceeded to explain what she had in mind… and to her surprise, Sokka added his own ideas to her plan just as well. At first, her suggestions seemed to startle the others, for it sounded like a rather risky venture, one that could backfire so easily… and yet there was no other way. They had to trust her… to trust she knew that drill. To trust she wouldn't turn against them, even if her strange stiffness, her sudden distance, suggested she might.

They made their way down the wall again, gathered under a crevice: Toph whipped up a dust cloud and then a tunnel for them to travel through, unseen. Once they reached the drill, Sokka spotted a possible entrance, and Aang helped hoist each of them into the drill until Toph seemed to get cold feet at the last moment, choosing to stay on the ground and fight back from outside the drill instead.

"Okay, so we need the layout of this machine if we're going to figure out the best spots to break," Sokka said, looking around himself. Pipelines ran through the system, powering it, and before long, he settled on breaking one that appeared to be a source of gas rather than any other substance.

"What are you doing?!" Katara exclaimed.

"Someone's going to have to come fix it!" Sokka grinned. "And it'll probably be an engineer. We can just steal the drill's plans from him and be done with it!"

Azula bit her lip as she retreated into a dark corner with the group. Soon enough, an engineer did show up. Katara stepped out into the open…

Only for a sharp kick to her lower back to knock her to the floor.

"Wha…?!" Aang gasped. "KATARA!"

He had no time to respond: a sharp blow to the back of his neck knocked him unconscious just as well.

The last one left, of course, was Sokka. His eyes were wide with hurt, and Azula eyed him apologetically before striking him down too, digging her knee into his stomach.

"What is…?! What?! Princess?!" the engineer exclaimed.

"Ugh. It was about time," she said, rolling her eyes- "Please, help me bring those three to War Minister Qin. Clearly, one can't be captured around here and expect assistance, can they?"

"We heard you were missing in action, but we trusted you'd prevail!" exclaimed the engineer.

"Enough with the pointless excuses!" Azula shouted, freezing the man in place with her harsh words. "We have work to do. That city will be ours."

She glared at Sokka, who squirmed, the only one still conscious, on the floor. He gazed at her pleadingly, but her eyes' sharp, golden steel offered no respite. She had made her choice. She would simply have to figure out if she could live with it.

* * *

"You're ALIVE! It's a miracle! You've returned to us, Princess!" War Minister Qin was exclaiming happily, and Sokka would shoot glares at him from the top-most observation deck's floor. His sister and the Avatar, tied beside him against a railing, were doing the same thing, now they were back to their senses. "Oh, the Fire Lord will be thrilled that you are, and that you brought the Avatar with you, too! Today marks a grand victory for our great nation!"

"That it does, War Minister, for sure," Azula declared, languishing carelessly on a throne-like chair that still stank of the War Minister's stale perfume. Of course, the man had been happy to sit here until she had arrived. No doubt, despite all his apparent bliss over her return, he was definitely distraught about having to share his triumph with her. "Are we progressing well so far?"

"Perfectly on schedule, Princess! We should make contact with the outer wall within the next ten minutes!"

"Ten minutes, is it?" she said, raising her eyebrows. "How utterly sluggish and slow is this damn machine that it would take that long? This… this is truly a pathetic strategy. Did that Mechanist design this machine deliberately to stall us?"

"Well…! We have, yes, suspected as much, but… surely that's not the case! And even if it were, we'll keep going, Princess, of course!" said the War Minister.

Azula huffed, raising her chin haughtily.

"Full speed ahead, War Minister."

"F-full…? Well, we are going at the safest speed we can…"

"Full speed, I said!"

"R-right! Yes, Princess!"

It wasn't a good idea, he knew: the system was delicate, despite how sturdy it was from the outside. Any overloading of materials could cause a clog within the machine's drill, and if that happened… oh, her recklessness could doom their whole enterprise. She shouldn't demand for this, but how to say no?

The drill began moving faster, digging up earth from down below to move forward. A sharp glance at the three that sat, gagged and restrained, on the floor… Azula rose to her feet, and the War Minister nearly winced as Azula gestured at the periscope.

"Please, keep watch. Ensure we're headed in the right direction at all times, War Minister."

A rather ridiculous order, and yet again, the War Minister rushed to the periscope and abided by it. All other eyes on the command module were set on their respective tasks, too, for they were busy setting up everything so the Princess's full-speed order would be heeded…

And so, none of them saw the Princess step towards the three captives and burn off their restraints.

It was a rather strange but amusing pandemonium: Aang's airbending took everyone by surprise as he crafted a whirlwind inside the command module. Sokka rushed towards his weapons and Katara's water pouches, which the War Minister had requisitioned: together they took to taking down the rest of the engineers within the room… while Azula had a rather violent firebending showdown with the two Imperial Firebenders within the module, tasked with the protection of their mission. The War Minister screamed desperately, no doubt searching for a place to go… only for Sokka to deliver an uppercut at him, knocking him unconscious right away.

"HA!"

There wasn't too much time to celebrate yet, though: he rushed to help Azula, tossing his boomerang to distract one of the firebenders. The Princess smirked at him, taking the opportunity to deliver a most lethal charged fire blast at the firebender's stomach from the soles of her shoes, after she performed a somersault that left Sokka gaping in wonder at her skill. The next firebender attempted to attack only for Azula to dodge him, trip him with a firebending kick, and leave him for Sokka to finish off with a powerful blow of his club to his helmet, a sure way to knock someone out.

By the time the two main firebenders were done, everyone else was either surrendering or had given up already. And so, Azula made her way to the machines, switching each value to its opposite one as violently as possible, both to ensure the drill would either collapse fully or at least move in the wholly opposite direction.

"We did it! We stopped the drill!" Aang exclaimed, hugging Katara excitedly.

"And it didn't even reach the Outer Wall!" Sokka said, beaming brightly as he helped Azula with busting the machine. "Princess, your plan was GENIUS!"

It wasn't long before some loud explosion resounded through the mechanism: of course, so many careless commands would eventually be too many for the machine. It would break down – without exploding, hopefully – and it would be out of commission for good, as long as the Earth Kingdom's authorities took the machine and dissembled it safely…

Azula released a deep breath before turning to smile at Sokka. He stood beside her, grinning just as brightly as he had when he had been intoxicated… though far more earnestly, this time.

"I was sent to hunt down a traitor and a failure…" she said. "And I guess I'm the traitor now, huh?"

"Definitely not the other thing, though," Sokka said, beaming. "I always knew you were the best your dad could send after us! Look at this! You tore them down in one go! This was…! You're just…! Hell, I…"

"You have something to say, yes?" Azula asked, amused. "Are you going to sing praises about me? Declare me the greatest being that ever lived? Or perhaps will you say embarrassing things such as 'I melt in your hands' once again?"

"Y-yeah, well…" he chuckled, his hands on her shoulders. "You know what? Yes, I can say I definitely melt in your firebending hands, Azula. Especially after today. I know what this means to you. I know how much you're sacrificing for, well… us. But I think… or rather, I hope? That it'll turn out okay in the end?"

"I sure hope so too. Because if not, you'll have to refund me for all this faith I'm putting in you," Azula said, pointing at him and pressing her index finger to his chest. Sokka chuckled, lowering his gaze. "Make sure I won't regret this, alright? Tall, warrior boy?"

"I can think of an idea or two to achieve that, dangerous, beautiful Princess," he grinned.

His brow pressed against hers just before he kissed her, fully. Aang blinked blankly as he watched them – as did the conscious crew members of the drill, gaping in utter disbelief at their Princess's shameless behavior: wasn't she supposed to be the good kid, as opposed to her brother?

"Woah," Aang managed, but Katara laughed beside him, tugging him away, towards the people they'd have to keep watch over.

"Come on, it's not polite to stare," she said.

"You're taking this way too well, huh?" Aang grinned. Katara shrugged.

"What can I say? I guess she grew on me, just a little," she smiled. "Besides… this way you'll have a firebending teacher, right?"

"And she'll be the best teacher ever!" Sokka declared, revealing he and Azula had stopped kissing by then, though his arm remained wrapped around her shoulders. She gasped.

"Hey! I never did say I'd do that, did I?" she asked. Sokka laughed and shrugged.

"And why wouldn't you?" he said. "It'll be fun!"

Azula groaned and shook her head, though she smiled as her friends laughed together. Her friends… new friends, who hadn't wanted her for her title, her position, her privilege. Friends who had shared their meals, even their bedding with her, who had worried about her, who had protected her… and whom she had protected, just as well. It was a strange sensation, one she wasn't sure she had ever felt before… but as she stood there, an arm wrapped around Sokka's waist, watching his most goofy, cheerful grin, Azula guessed she melted in his hands just as well, for this was exactly where she wanted to be.

* * *

"So… do you really think Zuko is going to be somewhere around here?" Ty Lee asked, nonchalantly, at Mai. "Maybe we really should've gone back to find Azula… she would've tracked him easier than us."

"We had the beasts, she had nothing. If she didn't come back to us, it's because she couldn't. There's no reason to think she would've done any better than we have," Mai sighed.

The damn ferry station was a pain: she and Ty Lee had secured outfits to blend in as Earth Kingdom, dreary colorful stuff she would never wear if she could help it. Then, they'd tracked down two people and with her knives, threatened them out of their passports and tickets. They had raced away, crying… and Ty Lee had certainly seemed sorry for it, but Mai wasn't too bothered about the matter. Surely Azula would've done worse to people if she'd wanted what she didn't have, right?

But the damnable ferry just wouldn't arrive, would it? The sooner they reached that damn huge city, the sooner she'd be close to tracking down Zuko…

"Uh… huh? Mai! Mai!"

Mai's eyes drifted towards the direction Ty Lee was pointing at: the passports lady was speaking to two newcomers: a short, balding man with a silver beard… and a young man with dark hair, and a rather violent scar across his face.

"You… you figured it out! You found him!" Ty Lee exclaimed, beaming. "Aww! This is soooo romantic!"

Despite the discomfort of the situation hadn't decreased in the least, Mai smiled: maybe this ferry station wasn't so bad, after all.


	6. Day 6: Making a deal

If only someone other than Aang had claimed to have been warned in their dreams that some dangerous threat lurked in the shadows of Ba Sing Se's Palace, tailing the king and his family, Sokka would have never taken a break in his duties as a White Lotus agent to investigate it. It wasn't that he dismissed spiritual matters the way he had in his younger years… but something as vague as "threat lurking in the shadows" didn't sound as serious to him as a confirmed, verified menace would…

But here he was, paying a home visit to King Kuei, smiling awkwardly as him and his wife talked his ear off about the baby they were expecting, who would arrive any day now. They had the highest hopes for the baby, and couldn't seem to consider that maybe their bright enthusiasm was a hazard, a beacon that attracted unwanted attention: countless dignitaries, envoys from noble families of Ba Sing Se and other cities, even representatives of other nations, had been arriving across the weeks leading up to the birth, all be it to congratulate the king before and after his child was born.

And that meant the threat, whatever it might be, could be anywhere. It could be part of any of those retinues, whether a highly-ranked official or a mere servant, even someone within Kuei's own people, hiding in plain sight for years, gaining his trust, until the right moment to strike arrived. It wouldn't be any surprise, would it? The trusting fool had reinstated the Dai Li after they turned on him, no less…

Thus, Sokka was to work in subtle secrecy, without the king's awareness. He would unearth the threat somehow, before Kuei could come any closer to unraveling there was one at all: it had taken forever for the man to ease up on his antagonism towards the Fire Nation, and Aang's grand project to establish a United Republic hadn't helped matters in the least… too much rode on keeping the damn king safe. They could be on the verge of yet another war if either him or his loved ones were harmed by this problem.

He smiled as enthusiastically as he could while Kuei recited his genealogy for the umpteenth time, eating his dinner while trying his best to attune his other senses to their surroundings. What was the best place where a killer might hide? Where would he hide, if he were an assassin? What would he use to do away with Kuei or his wife…? Or maybe both? It could be an attempt to treasonously kill every member of the royal family, come to think of it… while Kuei and his wife appeared to look forward to having a huge family, this one would be their very first child. Without these three, the Earth Kingdom's royal bloodline would be gone for good.

If so… the closest way to stealthily strike at them would be from their side. But would this threat have waited this long to act, if they had been in the king's employ for all this time? The pregnancy had only been announced officially to the whole world two months ago: anyone who had intended to kill Kuei and do away with his child would have likely acted sooner than this. That Aang had only gotten that warning after the pregnancy was announced could only mean that, whatever this threat was, it had found out about the truth when everyone else had… it was an outsider. And what would an outsider do to get closer to Kuei, enough to kill him or his child…?

Sokka's eyes raked the servants in the room slowly, assessing each of the maids with careful regard. All appeared perfectly Earth Kingdom, clad in elegant yet humble robes of palace servants… nothing stood out amongst them. Not the maids, then? Perhaps the soldiers?

Just then, he glimpsed one shadow at the threshold of the door behind Kuei. Sokka's eyes narrowed as he glanced in that direction: he couldn't identify it right away. He gritted his teeth before setting down his chopsticks and excused himself, saying he'd have to go to the bathroom because he'd eaten too fast. Used to such antics on his part, Kuei dismissed him with a laugh, and he lingered in the room with his beloved wife while Sokka walked through the opposite door… and then turned sharply on the next corner, slipping through the corridors he had learned by heart during his brief stay in the Palace back in the years of the war. He had to move slowly, as cautiously as possible, if he hoped to catch this lurker…

He glanced past the corner warily, and from this new angle it was far easier to spot the dark shape hidden in the corridor: even if he hadn't been warned that there would be danger, he would have been alarmed by it.

Slowly he made his way towards that shadow, knowing there was a pretty good chance he'd be heard… knowing it could mean trouble if he was. The whole idea was to resolve this problem without Kuei finding out there was a problem at all. If he even knew anyone was trying to assassinate him, every bit of progress made for the harmony of nations would come to an abrupt end, and they couldn't have that, not at all…

The shape was so focused on the dinner scene, apparently, that they hadn't sensed him yet. One more careful step, then he could sprint towards it and disarm them before questioning them thoroughly, perhaps…?

The shape turned sharply towards him and launched a potent kick at his face.

Sokka lost his balance but regained it quickly just before the other person tackled him: he was larger, stronger physically, and he planted his feet firmly just before the opponent collided with him: the feeling of that body against his own… those were breasts. It was a woman.

Ugh, that was no reason to hold back if she was here to kill Kuei anyhow.

He clasped the enemy by her shirt and pinned her to the nearest wall, perhaps a little more violently than he should have: the next thing he knew, the dark corridor was lit up by an eerie blue light that came from the enemy's fingertips…

An eerie blue light that allowed them both to see each other's faces, and recognize one another immediately.

"Sokka…?!"

"A-Azula?!"

She hadn't intended to be discovered at any point in time, but if anyone tried to attack her, she wouldn't hold back if they were strong enough to withstand her non-bending combat abilities. She had conjured her fire with the intent of putting a rather final conclusion to this sudden setback… but just before she could strike in a violent, lethal way, she found herself recognizing the man as someone she absolutely couldn't kill if she truly hoped to get out of this mess unscathed. The very fool she had been surveilling a moment ago, as he excused himself from the meal he had been sharing with the king…

"Guess you didn't need the bathroom that much, huh?" Azula said, with a dry grin. Sokka gasped, staring at her in anguish.

"You're… you're kidding. Zuko said you'd changed, that you'd proven yourself…!" Sokka said, keeping his voice down despite his outrage threatened to change that. "I believed him! And yet now you're trying to kill the king?!"

"You… ugh, you utter imbecile," Azula sighed, closing her eyes and dropping her head against the wall. "I'm not trying to kill anyone… well, not anymore, I did think I'd have to kill you just now, until I recognized you. But I'm not here to kill that fool of a king, I'm here to save his sorry hide. Same as you."

"You… you are?" Sokka said, blinking blankly. Azula smiled dryly again and nodded in the most sarcastic manner possible. "W-wait, but why? How? You know that someone's going to try to…?"

"I don't know it, my stupid brother knows it, apparently," Azula growled. "He says he had a dream, some damn vision said King Kuei would be in mortal peril, and I suggested I could come here and deal with the matter myself."

"He… he dreamt that too?" Sokka asked. Azula raised her eyebrows.

"What, so did you?"

"No, Aang did," Sokka answered, biting his lip. "That… still doesn't explain why you weren't sent as an official dignitary, though. You're dressed like a servant, aren't you? Why…?"

"Why else?" Azula hissed. "I can't expect to play nice with the king the way you did. Technically, I'm still largely despised in this damn city, and even though I'm no longer public enemy number one, I'm not exactly far from that position either. If Kuei ever realized I'm the very same girl who aimed a fire dagger at his throat and stole his throne? He'll likely either sentence me to death right then and there, or eject me from the Palace, and his damn assassin will have a free path to doing away with him."

"And you're helping out… why?" Sokka asked again, blinking blankly. "Just because Zuko had a vision…?"

"More because I'd really like to come to this damn city whenever I so please without needing Zuzu making a thousand diplomatic agreements to allow it," Azula hissed. "You don't know it yet, do you? I'm his top intelligence advisor: his spymaster. I've been doing his dirty work for the past years. Why do you think he's faced next to no rebellions as of late? Because he's doing a fantastic job, and all the people indoctrinated into Fire Nation supremacy for the past five generations have changed their beliefs immediately thanks to his preachy speeches?"

"Uh… no. I guess that wouldn't make too much sense, not when it's only been a decade since the war ended, but…" Sokka admitted, before sighing. "And well, if he's going to have an intelligence advisor it makes sense it'd be you. You're far smarter than anyone else in that nation, as far as I know…"

"Flattering… though you're an idiot," she said, smiling a little. Sokka grinned too, despite himself. "That's not the sense of 'intelligence' I was referring to, and you know it."

"Still true," he smirked. "But… you do swear you're here under his orders? You promise you're not just messing with me for your benefit?"

"Ugh, and why on earth would I do that?" Azula sighed, rolling her eyes. "If I were here to kill them myself, I would've offed you immediately, whether I recognized you or not."

"I suppose…" Sokka pouted. "Though I thought we were getting along better, you know…?"

"That's no reason not to kill a guy who's pinning you to a wall like he likes it, you see…"

Her words echoed in Sokka's head for a long moment, throughout which he stared at Azula in utter disbelief. She raised her eyebrows meaningfully, before glancing down at the contact between their bodies: his hands on her shoulders kept her pressed to the wall, as did one of the legs that held down hers. By the time her eyes returned to his, Sokka's face was deeply flushed, even under the blue light of her bending.

"S-sorry… I didn't mean to… sorry," he said, pulling away and releasing her from his grip. Well, his heart was racing now… and not the same way it had when he had thought he'd caught the assassin.

"You didn't?" Azula asked, smirking still. "And here I thought you were doing it deliberately because you somehow adore being in close quarters with me… it's happened an awful lot of times, hasn't it?"

"U-uh…" Sokka blinked blankly as Azula lowered her fire, extinguishing it after a few moments, leaving them in the perfect shroud of darkness once more. "Yeah, well, that was then, this is now. I didn't really want to cause you trouble, Azula, it's just…"

"You were sent here for the same reasons I was" Azula said "And that means… that as much as I'd rather work alone, we may be better served by cooperating with each other going forward."

"Cooperating?" Sokka repeated. Azula nodded promptly.

"I'm on the inside. I will keep Kuei and his family safe because, so far, I've been posing as a maid in their household for five days and they still haven't noticed something's off. Odd, you'd think, but they're royals of the careless kind, much like my father was: they don't pay that much attention to the help so long as the help knows how to pass unnoticed."

"And you've learned how to go unnoticed over the years, huh?" Sokka asked. Azula nodded.

"You, though, can investigate by talking with all those dignitaries who poured into the damn Palace in droves. Assess them, figure out which one is the likeliest to strike against the royal family, and keep watch over them. I can't quite perform background checks here as easily as I would have in the Fire Nation… but fishing out any Earth Kingdom loyalists who believe Kuei's latest policies are an insult to their great nation will, hopefully, yield results soon."

"You're quite confident, huh?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow that he knew she wouldn't see, not while they stood in such a dark corridor. "Do you have any leads on anyone in particular so far, or is it you haven't been able to investigate much on your own?"

"I've looked up only a few people, but they appear to be irrelevant," Azula admitted. "I'll keep an eye on the other servants, even the Dai Li and every soldier, for whoever's behind this could've had the same idea I did to disguise themselves in the palace's own staff… eventually, something's bound to pop out as suspicious."

"Alright… alright," Sokka said, biting his lip. "Then I guess… we have a deal?"

"We might," Azula said, enigmatically. Sokka smiled before stretching a hand towards her. "But only if you pull your weight. I'm not slowing down just to wait for you to catch up with me."

"Same here," Sokka said, haughtily. "We, uh, should meet at least once a day? To discuss anything we've discovered for now?"

"Good idea," Azula nodded, clasping his hand in hers gently: her warmth shouldn't have been any surprise, and yet Sokka felt a thrill rushing under his skin upon their contact. "There's some unused rooms in the basement, choose one of those and I'll meet you there at midnight, I suppose. No one should be keeping tabs on a maid at those hours."

"Alright," Sokka said, breathing out slowly. "I'll, uh, go back now then. Sorry for scaring you…"

"Oh, I'm sure I'm the one who scared you," Azula smirked. Sokka scoffed.

"Just because you kicked me? You really think that scares me?" he smiled. "I've been through worse than that many times, Princess."

"I bet you have," Azula said, raising her eyebrows as Sokka walked away, raising his hand in farewell towards her.

"See you tomorrow," he said… though he had a feeling it wouldn't be quite so long before he saw her again.

He was right to guess as much: she appeared frequently wherever the king was, always keeping her head uncharacteristically low, walking at the same hurried, nervous pace as the other servants, shyly complying with every order and command. She appeared the picture of humility and perfect obedience… except for whenever she locked eyes with him. By then, she'd send him a quick glare, as good as commanding him wordlessly to stop staring at her. Sokka would obey quickly, again bothered by how his heartrate quickened upon being in her presence. Something was definitely wrong with him…

He had continued his research, though, and he had tried to make his acquaintance with the many visitors Kuei had received. He'd shared drinks with some, helped others heave in their large gifts for the king, offered directions to those who couldn't seem to find their way in the large palace… in the end, he always found a way to coax enough information from each person about who they were, and what they were doing in the palace.

He would share that information with Azula at midnight: despite he should know better, it had startled him to find her wearing her palace-acquired nightgown – a full-body, near translucent white outfit – upon their first nighttime encounter. She had made fun of him for how flustered he was, and he had tried his best to ignore her jabs as he conveyed what he'd discovered. Even though it'd been a week of this procedure already, he could never seem to hold back from admiring how those simple clothes hugged her womanly figure perfectly… but he wasn't here to swoon over beautiful women, he was here to work. And work he would. Even if she was making it rather difficult by stealing away his attention when he should have known better.

So far, not much progress had been made: everything seemed perfectly harmless. They were growing slightly frustrated over their assignment, even spending the latest midnight meeting drinking together while dissing their respective employers, Aang and Zuko, for having ridiculous dreams that they'd forced them to act upon… Azula was rather interesting with her inhibitions lowered, Sokka thought, but he hadn't dared act on his damn impulses even then. She had given no sign of reciprocity, so as far as he could tell, he was the only fool whose loins seemed to soar whenever they were near each other. This was work, too: he couldn't lose control and had to focus on the duty, the situation at hand. It wouldn't do to fail to protect Kuei because he was too busy gazing at Azula's cleavage, wondering just when she had filled out that much and how he hadn't noticed until then…

And if they kept up at this rate, he might have just failed to read the signs of danger when they finally arrived at their doorstep: a week after Sokka's arrival, another lordling, landowner in the western Earth Kingdom, had appeared in the Palace with as much pomp as any other noble had… and yet he immediately stood out as a menace to Azula and Sokka, as they watched him in his encounter with Kuei.

"So much has changed in the Earth Kingdom for the past years, my king… it has been difficult to keep up," the man had said, sipping his tea quietly upon each pause. Kuei eyed him remorsefully. "But this child of yours…! It will be the very first good change in a long time, won't it? A strong boy, I'm sure, who will uphold every ideal our nation ought to strive towards…"

"I am hoping so, yes," Kuei smiled. "I do regret that there has been very little to be done about the United Republic's demands, though, Lord Yao… it has taken me so long to accept the Avatar's project because I had no intentions of hindering my own people. It all boils down to that spoiled Fire Lord, really…"

"Oh, but he's just the spitting image of his father, only, with a damn scar across his face," said Lord Yao. Sokka's eyes flickered towards Azula, and he was impressed to see she hadn't reacted, not even once, upon hearing either the king or his lordling badmouthing her brother. "His colonial pursuits cannot be denied. He knows it's more convenient for him to keep a foothold in our continent, that's why he can't be reasoned with, why he's been so adamant about keeping Yu Dao as it is. I'm sure he'll start demanding for his other colonies to be reinstated too…"

"I do hope not…" Kuei said, though his eyes flickered towards Sokka then, and he smiled awkwardly. "I know you're personal friends with the Fire Lord, but surely you understand…"

"Oh, I understand completely," Sokka nodded, tightening his lips into a line. "I thought I was lucky to be born in a place with next to no resources anyone else would want to exploit, but ever since they found oil… the North has been pestering us nonstop, you know? I used to think it was fine, they were only giving us a hand, but by now I'm starting to wonder if maybe the rebels who didn't want this were in the right, instead… even Fire Lord Zuko has economic interests in the area now. He may be my friend, but he's still a Fire Lord. And Fire Lords… sadly, they can't be trusted."

It impressed Azula that he would sound so sincere… that he would speak ill of Zuko without missing a beat, with such believable naturality that both Kuei and Yao appeared perfectly, blissfully happy to hear him. While she had schooled herself into becoming the best spy she could possibly be, it didn't escape her notice that Sokka had, in all likelihood, spent his latest years perfecting his own skills on the matter all the same, in the White Lotus's ranks. And this way, he had gained Kuei's sympathy… and perhaps Yao would go to him for support, if he needed it.

Yet… Yao seemed to be ambitious, and he seemed to already have a plan, Azula realized. He wanted Kuei on his side, he wanted the king's support… he wanted the Fire Nation gone. He wanted the Earth King to father a boy, too…

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle started to make sense in Azula's head. She gritted her teeth as she tuned back into the conversation, only to find that they were now boasting about the greatness of their respective nations and how they were the truly superior ones to the Fire Nation – a matter that she found utterly stupid to discuss, though to her relief, Sokka had enough sense not to pretend to be a pushover in every regard, claiming the Water Tribe was the greatest of all nations playfully while the other two laughed and declared otherwise.

She didn't wait until midnight this time: she waited only ten minutes after the meeting was done to slip away from the other maids unnoticed, rushing to the room she had long identified as Sokka's. She knocked on his door quickly, urgently, glancing anxiously around herself – no one should notice her here, not when the rounds of cleaning guest rooms were long finished, and when she should be down at the kitchens, working to ensure dinner would be served safe and soundly…

The door finally opened, and she would have rushed inside quickly, locking the door behind herself immediately… if only she hadn't been greeted by the sight of a shirtless, soaked Sokka with only a towel around his waist.

"A-Az…" he started, as she gasped at the sight of him. "W-what are you…?"

She snarled and rushed in anyway, bumping lightly into his body before closing the door in a rush. Curses, no. This wasn't fair. This wasn't right. She had been keeping herself in check, doing her best to disguise her body's reactions to his proximity for as long as they had encountered each other in that dark corridor… as, of course, no hot-blooded woman could be at the opposite end of those intense blue eyes, pinned against a wall by him as she had been, and not feel her very soul shudder with the urge to be kissed by him… but she was no fool. She had no intentions of acting on attraction, not when she was here for very serious, professional reasons…

But that glistening body, and that loose, wet hair, certainly seemed to taunt her into doing the exact opposite of what she had intended to. She had nearly damn forgotten why she was here, outright, as she stared at Sokka with what she hoped he'd interpret as outrage… rather than the arousal it truly was.

"I had no idea you'd drop by, sorry!" Sokka grimaced. "I was cleaning up before dinner, I thought…"

"Well, that's too bad because you'll be skipping dinner," Azula determined. Sokka's confused stare only made his train of thought obvious to the Princess after a short moment of tense silence. "B-because we have to investigate something, damn you! Not for any other reason!"

"Oh. Hah, here I thought you'd… haha, never mind," Sokka grinned awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as he made his way to his temporary closet. Azula gritted her teeth, watching his strong back, her gaze shifting lower, to the rear so tightly marked by that towel… no, no, no, she wasn't that stupid, she didn't think with her loins, no she didn't… "Why do you want me to skip dinner, though? Is it Yao? I did think he sounded fishy, but did you catch anything suspicious enough about him already?"

"No strong evidence yet, no, but I'm sure I know what his plan is," Azula said, tearing her eyes off him once he turned towards her, putting on a shirt slowly as he gazed at her. "He wants to be in Kuei's good graces like any other noble, but by incensing him further against the Fire Nation. He'll have Kuei killed, frame the Fire Nation for it, detonate another war and position himself as the ideal leader to carry forward this new conflict…"

"Wait, wait, wait… he'll have Kuei killed?" Sokka repeated, frowning as he put on a set of trousers: had he put on any underwear? Azula hadn't seen him do so. Oh hell, was he going to wander the damn palace without any on? That… didn't help. Not in the least. "You mean… he'll hire someone Fire Nation to kill the king?"

"And then, in all likelihood, he'll take down the material assassin himself, turn him in to the authorities, endear himself to the queen, all in a bid to become her next husband," Azula declared, staring pointedly at the wall. That certainly made it much easier to focus, yes. "He'll pin the murder on the Fire Nation, and raise the child himself to make sure he will hate our people. It's a perfectly stupid plan, and yet one that would likely work smoothly if only some weird spirits hadn't sent messages to my brother and your Avatar about what was going to happen…"

"That's distressing to even think about," Sokka sighed. "Okay, but then… what will we do? Without solid evidence there's not much we can present to Kuei, and Aang doesn't want me to present anything to him anyhow. He thinks that if Kuei finds out there's anything going on, he'll lose his shit and turn against the nation coalition all over again…"

"Zuko told me the same thing," Azula said, releasing a breath and turning towards Sokka anew: he had fastened his sash, and tied up his still wet hair, and surely still had no underwear on. Ugh, she HAD to stop thinking about that… "We'll look for the evidence now. Once dinnertime arrives, Yao will surely either eat with Kuei or take a group of lords out into the city, attempting to gather more supporters for his cause once he sets his plan in motion. He shouldn't be in the palace for a while, and that gives us enough time to search through his room to find any signs of communication between himself and his likely hitman."

"I'm not sure," Sokka frowned. "We'll both go? Not that I mind investigating with you, Azula, but we need to keep Kuei alive too, remember? One of us should…"

"There's literally no way the queen's water will break and she'll deliver a child, all within the next three hours," Azula said, skeptically. "Yao won't act until the child is born, and worse yet, he seemed to be quite certain it would be a boy: it's entirely possible that, if it's a girl, he might not act at all."

"Or that he might kill the child," Sokka suggested. Azula's eyes widened. "It's… sickening. But he could have his hitman killing Kuei's daughter. There's no better way to ensure Kuei sees red and doesn't stop until he immolates his entire nation in a war against the Fire Nation, if need be, than by killing his child… or is there?"

"I hadn't even thought of that." Azula admitted, frowning. "But it's a perfectly logical way to proceed, even if…"

"If utterly appalling? Yes," Sokka growled. "Just the thought that someone would want to kill a newborn makes me want to bash in their heads with my club, that they want to do it for a political reason makes me want to… to bash in their heads multiple times with my club."

"A valid feeling," Azula said, breathing out slowly. "But it means we have a short window of time to act. Once the queen's water breaks…"

"We'll have to be there. To protect her, for sure," Sokka said, gritting his teeth. "But if we can stop this beforehand, all the better."

"Indeed," Azula sighed, gesturing at the door. "Let's go. I know where Yao's room is."

Sokka obeyed promptly, slipping his knife inconspicuously inside his pocket, unwilling to bring any larger weapons than that. He followed Azula dutifully, urging his foolish heart not to overreact about Azula's flustered behavior earlier: she wouldn't have necessarily reacted any differently to any other guy she had seen like that, would she? It wasn't an indicator for anything serious, not really… no matter how he wished it were. It was stupid, a really bad idea, to see Azula in this light as of late, he knew as much, but why couldn't he seem to stop doing it…?

The undercover Princess led him to one of the topmost rooms in the Palace: most of them were occupied by now, and the newest arrivals were often given the least comfortable rooms of all, even as far as seven floors up. However luxurious it was, many of them had already complained about knee pain climbing so many stairs… fortunately, neither of the stealthy investigators were quite as quick to exhaustion as nobles were. They reached Yao's assigned room as quietly as possible, constantly hiding in corridors whenever anyone came close to them, switching stairs frequently to throw off anyone who might see them… until finally they arrived, and Azula produced a handful of servant keys with which she unlocked the suite quickly.

It was, naturally, empty: her guess about what Yao would do during dinner had been spot on. Sokka locked the door again behind them, and they analyzed the place cautiously. Yao hadn't been here for long, so he evidently hadn't unpacked much so far. They'd be able to search his bags, then, of which he had plenty, stacked on one side of the bed.

"Seems like he does intend to move in, huh?" Sokka asked, reaching for the first of the bags.

"You'd think, but most these nobles brought similar amounts of luggage," Azula said. Sokka flinched.

"Must be awful for you to clean after all those people," he said. Azula scoffed. "I'm surprised you've put up with it for so long without a hitch…"

"'Put up with it' is the right phrase, yes," Azula admitted, opening another bag: clothes, apparently. Many changes of them. She still stuck her hand inside for good measure, in case she found anything other than fabrics within, be it paper or a weapon or just anything…

"I'd have never expected you to deal with this. Serving others… doesn't really suit you," Sokka said. Azula smiled and shrugged.

"It's a pretense. And Zuko pays well, at least," Azula said. "That being said, I lived like most these pretentious fools long ago. I had their same complaints, saw the same faults in everything servants did, which means… I know exactly what they want to see, exactly how to clean to their satisfaction, exactly how to respond so they'll ignore my very existence. A double-edged blade, you could say."

"Wow," Sokka smiled. "Sounds like you should hate this job, but maybe it works well for you…"

"Oh, I hate pretending to be a servant, don't get me wrong," Azula said. Sokka chuckled. "But I don't hate being a spy. I don't hate investigating, and putting up a front… I masqueraded as your ex once before, remember? In this very palace…"

"Ah… I never did see you in the Kyoshi Warrior outfit, though," Sokka smiled. "Just in the Dai Li uniform."

"Your sister did. She was so fearful, telling me all about how Zuzu was in the city…" she said, smiling mischievously. "I know I shouldn't take joy in any of those events these days, but it was highly ironic that she'd beg the worse of two evils to save her from the other one."

"I'll say, in retrospect? You pulled off something incredible with that coup," Sokka smiled. "It was wrong, yes, but… I wish I'd ever come up with a plan as big as that. The scope of it, the way you had everything working smoothly, exactly as you needed it to…? It sure was something…"

"It's the main reason I managed to sabotage your big plan, too," Azula said, glancing at Sokka almost remorsefully. "Kuei himself blurted out that your people would attack the Fire Nation on the day of the eclipse. Obviously, I asked him to keep talking and the fool did…"

"Ugh. So, I could've impressed you that day with my strategic abilities, just as you blew me away with the coup, and he sabotaged it?" Sokka asked. Azula, despite herself, laughed at his outrage. "Damn him. Maybe I shouldn't be helping him at all. I'll leave and tell Aang to send someone else in my stead, now I'm angry…"

"If it makes you feel any better, you weren't half bad a strategist," Azula said. "Still aren't. But… I'm better."

"Heh! I'll get you yet, Princess," Sokka hissed playfully. She smiled as she set aside the fourth bag and started with the next one.

Sokka had been looking through a rather big bag, one carrying a few more implements rather than clothes. Hygiene implements, as far as he could tell, in general… but then he felt a small scroll at the very bottom, squashed against the rest of the items. He shifted the contents of the bag, fishing out the scroll with difficulty… when Azula suddenly whipped her head around to the door and urged him to be quiet by pressing her finger to her lips.

Sokka froze in place… just in time to hear footsteps. Footsteps, approaching.

Azula grimaced, closing the bag she had been searching and piling them together at haste. Sokka followed suit, tucking away the small scroll inside his pocket… but where to now? They were on the seventh floor, there was no way they'd be able to get out through the window, and the front door was ruled out, for if this was Yao, it was evident he'd enter through it in a matter of seconds. Under the bed? The frame was solid, there was no way they could hide there…

Azula clasped his forearm suddenly and dragged him to a corner of the room: Sokka had very little time to process what was happening before the Princess pulled the closet door open and tossed him inside. She closed the door quickly, its creaking sound matching the one of the front door, that was opened at the same time.

It was a small closet, and Sokka's head scraped its ceiling if he tried to stand at his full height. It resulted in him crouching lightly over Azula's frame… while she, in turn, was pressed fully into his chest, her face against his quick-paced heart.

Both breathed heavily, but as quietly as they possibly could, too. They heard footsteps out in the room, but no voices, nothing to ascertain this was Yao other than strong footsteps… then a sigh.

And then the sound of the mattress being pressed: he was sitting down, or laying down altogether. Why? How come? Wasn't he supposed to be going to dinner?

Sokka glanced at Azula – or at least tried to, for it was hard to see her in the dark. She raised her head towards him too, and when he tried to mouth some thoughts towards her, in a desperate and fruitless attempt to communicate, Azula pressed a hand to his lips before leaning into his ear.

"Be quiet," she whispered breathily, so softly Sokka almost missed the meaning of her words. Yes, well, being quiet went without saying, but what were they going to do next? How would they get rid of this problem? How would they get out of this damn closet?

It wasn't the first time Azula was in a complicated position in the middle of her espionage. She had been forced to hide behind bookshelves covered in dust and cobwebs, she even had to conceal herself in garbage one time, and the damn stench had taken forever to rinse off. But this time around she was stuck in a rather cramped space… and worse than that, she wasn't alone.

Try as though either of them might to be as professional and steady as they did, their bodies were in full contact as they held each other safely. What to do? How to ever excuse this, if they were caught? Even if they played this as some sort of twisted situation where they had developed a fancy for each other and taken to making out in dark corners, why would anyone choose to hide in a closet of the Palace's seventh floor to make out? They had no choice but to stay hidden indeed… for however long as possible, until whoever was outside left the room again, or fell deeply asleep and they were free to slip away unnoticed.

Sokka leaned closer, his lips grazing Azula's ear. She shivered, again trying not to let her damn system misunderstand what was happening… but then he spoke as she had, in that hushed, husky whisper, and his breath tickled her neck, sending tingles up and down her spine, as good as tickling the private places she knew she shouldn't be responding to him with…

"What do we do?" he had asked, and he lingered right where he was. Azula shivered involuntary, clinging to his waist, her long nails scraping his skin lightly.

"We… wait," she decided, in the same voice tone. "Just… stay put. Like this."

Sokka swallowed dryly: he would do his best, yes… but holding this beautiful woman so closely, feeling her breasts pressed against his body, inhaling her light perfume, would make it far more difficult not to move than any other challenge he could think of right now. The closet was so small, he had no idea how any nobleman would be granted such a small clothing storage… surely Yao would have complained nonstop about it to Kuei if he didn't have an agenda to push forward.

That being said… the man could easily climb out of bed and decide to tuck away his things sooner than later. If that happened… well, he'd punch the lights out of him, before Azula could do anything more final. While it seemed she used her abilities for better purposes these days, it was clear the Princess had become even more lethal in recent years and wouldn't hold back from executing anyone who might have caught her in a compromising situation… and that wouldn't work for their purposes either. If she killed anyone in this Palace, and it was discovered that any firebender was responsible, the precarious peace would shatter all over again…

His grip on her arms tightened, as though to keep her right where she was. To ensure she wouldn't do anything too dangerous, to ask her nonverbally to leave this to him, if need be. The man outside rustled in the mattress, and Azula's head whipped quickly towards the sound only for Sokka to lean closer yet, their cheeks colliding.

"Don't… do anything," he whispered. "Leave it to me."

Azula gritted her teeth, again tickled pleasantly by his voice. Again, stirred in a way she hadn't intended to be by him. She turned her face towards his… and in that darkness, she could sense him less than an inch away. She could feel his breathing against her own skin… just as he could feel hers, no doubt.

"How…" Azula mouthed softly, "… how do we always… end up in close quarters like this…?"

Her words rang true, and stirred further confusion and excitement inside Sokka's body: without needing a light source, he could imagine the way her eyes would glisten upon meeting his own. Her breaths brushed against him… breaths she released through her mouth. Her lips were parted… those full lips he couldn't help but want to kiss since their arrangement had begun – most powerfully once their midnight encounters had started.

The chance of being caught was terrifying. That had to be why his heart was racing… why hers was, too – he could feel hers against his chest, drumming through her breast… oh, he wanted to touch her. He wanted to kiss her, to pin her to another wall and show her the best of times by doing so. An unwise course of action, he guessed, for as much as they had gotten along for the last years of the decade, he hardly knew her that well… let alone did he know her well enough to jump into any wild dalliances without looking back, did he?

Oh, but she was so tempting, and she shivered in his arms, and he heard as her tongue slipped out of her mouth, licking her lips… he wanted to lick them, too. He could have done that for her…

No, no, no, he couldn't, he shouldn't, this was stupid, his brain had stopped working, that was the only explanation for the slowly surging erection that bulged inside his trousers… free from the trappings of underwear he had neglected to wear merely because the situation sounded quite urgent.

The man outside rustled in bed again, and Azula shuddered, leaning forward again… pressing further into Sokka. He flinched, she noticed… and that was when she grew aware of the dangerous problem that hung between his legs. She lowered her head, despite knowing she wouldn't be able to see anything… had he been turned on earlier, for some other reason, and the situation wasn't helping? Or… was it because of her?

Well, he was a man. No doubt, having a girl's bosom pressed into his body could have triggered a rather hormone-driven, impulsive response in his system… and yet that realization amused Azula, somewhat. She had teased him a few times by now, by saying he had a crush on her, somehow… but that his manhood would rise up to a challenge no one had posed for it certainly spoke for itself.

She raised a hand and then froze in place, once it was mere inches from his shaft: what on earth was she doing? That wasn't something she should touch, was she insane? That wasn't teasing, that was harassment. Sokka would report her to Zuko as soon as they got out of this damn closet, tell her brother she was some sort of horny nymphomaniac who had dragged him into a closet and had her way with him there… eh, maybe she really should be one. It would be more fun than standing here, raising her head towards his, merely chasing after those soft breaths he released, while she inhaled that delectable, masculine scent of his body… there was something breezy to his natural musk, as though he had only just been rolling in waves in the sea: that same sensation brushed through her senses, much as her own scent, akin to a spicy incense with a dash of saffron bittersweetness, was slowly overwhelming him. She seemed to embody a fireplace, burning steadily, but ever ready to take a wilder surge and burn everything in her wake, if need be… and he longed for it. He wanted to be burned, just as she wanted his waves to roll across her. Maybe if they both did it together, as one, neither one would get hurt…

His hands slid lower over her arms. Hers rose to his strong chest, the one she had been so enraptured by earlier. Any moment now, the other would pull away, somehow, despite they couldn't possibly put much distance between them in such cramped space. Any moment they'd snap out of the intoxicating daze they were in. Any moment, that bastard right outside would pull the door open and find them, flustered and undeniably excited, gazing into each other's eyes with unabashed lust…

A second ticked by.

And then another.

And nothing happened. Nothing changed.

Sokka swallowed hard: Azula could imagine the sight of his throat's movements, despite being unable to see it for herself, only to hear it. He was growing bolder, once his hands trailed down the sides of her elbows… and fell upon her waist. Azula shivered, and her own fingers probed the muscles of Sokka's chest, slipping lower, between their bodies… yet with no intent to push him off, he realized, for those fingertips caressed his abdomen… caressed it with greed.

Her irregular breathing soon accompanied his: what was the other thinking? What on earth were they doing? Azula raised her head again, intending to ask just how far those hands of his would go…

Her lips grazed his by sheer accident.

And the next thing she knew, his hands had clasped each of her ass cheeks as he kissed her hard, powerfully, overloading her already thrilled senses by finally caving in to the temptations they had failed to resist.

Azula didn't have a chance to reason with the situation: he had succumbed, though he had fought it longer than she had expected, but he had succumbed nonetheless… and as those willful lips collided with hers, she found herself completely forgetting all about professionalism. What did it matter to anyone if she made out with her associate in closets if she so wished? His lips tasted heavenly, and his tongue darted out to seek hers… her whole body shuddered as she leaned further into him, her hands touching him with now unmistakable erotic intent. She needed this, whatever it was. She wanted him, no matter the risks. And she'd get him, if not now, later…

Sokka nearly yelped when her hand slipped recklessly, quickly down his chiseled abdomen to tug off the sash that held his clothes together: undoing it proved enough for his trousers to drop, for his shirt to spread open… for his manhood to spring up, uncontested and free, and she caught it in her hand without the slightest hesitation, shivering with anticipation instead. Her hungry kisses rivaled his own perfectly, and while one of his hands lingered on her rear, the other ventured forward, cupping her left breast even over her clothes. Oh, he was bold, just as she was reckless, and she simply loved it.

She wasn't sure whether she was lucky or unlucky when it came to her servant's uniform: there were far more layers to it than to Sokka's simple apparel. He struggled to find her skin underneath the clothes, hiking up her outer tunic to find a long-sleeved shirt underneath, and beneath it, at last, her underwear. Ugh, but pulling off her clothes would be near impossible in this damn closet, so cramped, with the constant menace of that man outside, who would catch them if they made any noise they shouldn't…

Their kiss broke apart with a sweaty gasp: they breathed hotly against each other for just a moment, yet that Azula refused to let go of his erect cock convinced Sokka to cast the rest of his reservations to hell: he raked up the clothes of her upper body, slipping his hand through the hem of her trousers. And when Azula gasped, whether out of sheer pleasure, outrage or disbelief, Sokka pushed her back against the closet's wall and caught her sound with his own mouth, kissing her voraciously once again… and the whole world was fading in blissful wonder as those fingers prodded her clit delectably, stirring so much wet heat inside her Azula could barely hold her own against his touch. It was too good, he was too good… and by the soft, purr-like sounds that poured from his throat, perhaps she was good too, as she massaged his shaft, rubbing her whole hand over it, pressing her palm to his tip and prompting his breath to hitch for it.

She wanted to see his face… to know what he was thinking. Her other senses took control as it was, for she could barely make out his silhouette, even when kissing him with her eyes narrowly open… weird that she'd feel even more excited about trying to see him as they kissed, when his fingers were already doing a brilliant job at riling up her arousal: just how embarrassing would it be, in any other circumstances, for a man to dip his fingers over her folds to find them sopping wet right away? She knew she had no excuse for that kind of reaction… but to be fair, Sokka had no excuse for the massive erection she was still stirring further. Unable to see it, she dared caress it from hilt to tip, basking in how strong and potent it felt… she wanted it. She really wanted it inside her… whether it fit or not, she simply wanted it.

He groaned softly when he started thrusting into her hand, and Azula moaned back, their heavy breathing and intimate caresses paired in perfect synch. Their free hands traveled across the other's body, teasing and testing the waters by touching everything they dared: it was Azula's turn to wrap her hand around his rear… she wanted to spank him rather irrationally upon caressing the soft, round mound. Meanwhile, his own hand slipped under her clothes, struggling to push so many layers out of the way, all be it to find her nipples. He could have settled for her thighs, but he went further… Azula's lips wouldn't leave his anymore, and to his delight, the two were thrusting into each other's hands together, moaning, panting sweating, needing more than just these caresses to find full satisfaction… but, to be fair, the caresses were doing a damn good job at pushing them to the edge all the same.

Sokka's lips trapped Azula's tongue briefly, just as a surge of pleasure nearly caused her to pull away from their kiss: there was something impossibly erotic to being kissed this way… almost as though he were claiming her for himself. As if he was deciding she'd be his, from now on… and as she shivered violently under the fingers that dipped inside her entrance, while the thumb continued to toy with the clit, Azula found that notion perfectly agreeable. Yes… yes, she wanted to be his. She wanted more of this, whatever the hell it was, because it certainly felt like more than just impossibly hot sex to her…

He tensed up: he was close as well. He released her from the capture of his lips so he could pant heavily against her, but Azula stole another wild kiss from his open mouth: her hand jerked his organ faster than before, and by the groans that left his lips, that was exactly what he needed right now…

He came in spurts, shooting his load mere instants before her own lower body seemed to catch fire: they melted into each other's hands, moaning with more abandon than they should've risked. And again, they devoured each other's lips with savage kisses as they rode the last of their climaxes together, aided by the other in climbing down from the heights of pleasure.

They still breathed heavily when their releases were finished… and he still stole another kiss from her lips. And another. And yet another. Azula moaned, wondering if he'd want to take her in this stupid, cramped closet… she wouldn't mind one bit, if he did…

And then another sound, outside their tight, ever-heating closet, reminded them that they weren't alone in the damn room… and that a wild tryst was NOT the reason they were here.

"W-what…?" Sokka pulled away, turning his head towards the closet's door, his ear sharp and keen… Azula's crumpled clothes rolled down again as Sokka released her from his grip, though she had to tug everything properly back into place anyway…

And then that sound again.

A snore.

The bastard outside had entered the room to take a nap.

The two of them released louder breaths than they should have, at the same time. Oh, this was absurd. It was stupid. Either they had the best luck in the world or the worst, and it was near impossible to tell which it was.

Sokka leaned down, searching blindly around the floor to collect his sash. Azula shook her head, reaching a hand towards the door.

"We… are going to move very carefully, and quietly," she said. Sokka nodded. "If that bastard wakes up…"

"I'll stab him," Sokka said, bluntly. Azula smirked.

"Sounds good," she decided.

His hand found hers on the closet's door once he was ready, by sheer chance. Azula swallowed hard, but together they pushed it open as quietly as they could, hoping it wouldn't creak if they were careful…

She slid out of the narrow opening first, walking so silently across the room Sokka grimaced, while closing the closet behind himself: he could never be that stealthy. But he'd try anyways, even if he couldn't walk that lightly. He followed her as she reached the door, opening it just as quietly, and she urged him to move faster: he was still halfway across the room, walking cautiously while keeping an eye on the man snoring…

A rather large, bulky man with shaggy hair and beard. Sokka frowned as he studied his appearance: that wasn't the perfectly groomed Lord Yao he'd met earlier. He gritted his teeth as he slid out of the room, and Azula closed the door silently once more… before clasping his forearm and guiding him to the nearest flight of stairs.

He only followed blindly, carelessly, his heart racing so bad over the tension and adrenaline he didn't even think twice about whatever their destination might be. He only came back to his senses when Azula tossed him inside another dark room… a room he soon recognized as his own. She closed the door behind herself, locking it quickly before releasing a long, tense breath.

"That… was so close. Way too close," Azula said. Sokka nodded, finally finding his voice again to ask:

"You okay…?"

"Okay?" Azula said, turning to look at him in disbelief: the sunset's glow fell upon the room through the windows, and now she could see Sokka's face clearly… his reddened lips beckoned her yet again. She wondered if hers did the same to him…

"I-I mean… that was… intense," Sokka decided, swallowing hard. "That guy… that wasn't Yao."

"Yeah… I noticed when I was waiting for you to get out," Azula said, nodding. "The… the hitman, then?"

"Maybe. Could be… oh!" Sokka gasped, reaching into his trousers' pocket, fishing hastily past his knife for the small scroll he'd put away just before the stranger had showed up.

Azula stepped closer upon noticing he was holding what might be their only useful lead so far. She swallowed hard and stopped a little closer to him than she should have… close enough to smell her own perfume on him. Even to smell a certain, rather intimate scent that still clung to his hand… oh, she was insane. She really was insane. Getting fingered on the job and growing so utterly excited over it… what was the matter with her?

"It's… encrypted somehow," Sokka grimaced. "Feels like they purposefully broke the ideograms into nonsense so no one could intercept the message."

"That so…?" Azula asked, reaching for the scroll: her hand brushed against his. Sokka didn't even flinch as she angled the paper towards herself.

Sokka let go of the scroll once Azula walked away with it, towards his desk. Watching her body sway with each movement sent jolts of excitement through his body… threatening to reawaken his shaft after it should have been, by all logic, calmed after she had relieved him earlier… curses, how on earth had he scored a handjob out of Princess Azula, of all people? He swallowed dryly at the thought… too dryly. There was water in the jug, he could drink that. And he could offer her some too, why not? It was just the gallant thing to do… especially after having jerked off each other in a closet.

Azula had already gotten started deciphering the confusing code when Sokka deposited a small cup with water beside her. Her whole body jolted for it, and she shot him a quick, awkward, grateful smile before getting back to work. And then she glanced back at him, most deliberately, to watch as he swallowed each mouthful of his own cup of water. Oh, the bob of his neck's triangle with each swallow… that was a true spectacle. He was impossibly attractive, and she wasn't sure how to stop admiring him…

He lowered his head and she whipped hers around quickly, her face fully flushed as she returned to work. Sokka blinked blankly at her sudden movement, but he placed his now empty cup on the desk while leaning over Azula's hunched form…

"You're in my light," she said, though her voice wasn't too antagonistic. Sokka bit his lip.

"Oops. Give me a sec," he said, stepping away… and Azula's heart sank for it. Which it shouldn't have. Curses, she had to FOCUS.

She continued to work quietly: she had already deciphered the first part, but then he returned to the room… with a set of lanterns that he distributed across the room, lighting them one by one.

"It'll be dusk soon anyway, so…"

"Good call," Azula said, working on the next set of ideograms… and then he set down the last lantern right on the desk.

"And now I'm not in your light," Sokka smiled, leaning again. Despite herself, Azula grinned too.

"So clever," she whispered.

"How's it looking?" he asked.

"I think I've nearly got it. It's not a long message," Azula said, jotting down a few more possibilities on the paper she was using to unravel the cyphered missive…

Within another two minutes, two phrases had formed across the paper:

_I'll arrive in the afternoon. Keep the room empty until the job is done._

"The job…" Sokka said. Azula snarled.

"Yes, it sounds bad, but not bad enough," she said, turning to look at him. "That guy, the one we saw… he's the murderer. He's the one Yao hired for his scheme."

"And if we take him out now…" Sokka said. "It'll cause trouble anyway. Worse yet if you do it personally: he's an ally and associate of a guy Kuei seems to like plenty. If a firebender is found attacking, or killing him…"

"The story will be spun into making me the enemy, yes," Azula said, gritting her teeth.

"They haven't acted yet," Sokka sighed. "I'm not sure we can make our move until they make theirs. There's so many potential risks…"

"The thing is… we do have the upper hand," Azula said, turning towards him. "Because they don't know I'm here. They don't know which team you're working for. You've said what they wanted to hear, but you're the Avatar's friend. They can't outright assume you mean them any harm… just as they can't assume you don't."

"Exactly," Sokka said, breathing sharply. "And they're completely unaware of your presence. So… we'll use those things to our advantage."

"You'll stick to Kuei. Follow him around, tail him, especially on the day of the birth," Azula said. "I'll wait on the queen, offer my services during the birth…"

"Sounds fun," Sokka said, with an awkward smile. Azula scoffed.

"A little blood won't faze me," she declared, boldly.

"I think it's more than just a little… but I think the worst part is the ridiculously loud baby crying," Sokka smiled. Azula grimaced.

"Fair… but I'll endure it," she said. "If the baby is a girl, I'll stick to guarding her and the queen. If it's a boy, you'll stand guard with Kuei and I'll try to reach you before the enemy does."

"Might be I'll make quick work of him before you do," Sokka smiled. "Though… we're not supposed to let anyone know what's going on, right? We're supposed… to keep our operation secret, quiet, without Kuei or the plotter's awareness. Should I try to take down that guy in front of Kuei? For real?"

"Hmm…" Azula bit her lip, tapping her chin with a fingertip. "I'd think it's the safest way to proceed… but maybe it isn't, you're right. If anything… we should figure out the layout of the birthing location, and where Kuei will be kept in wait. Then it's just a matter of figuring out where this guy is likeliest to break into either room… and then stop him before he does."

"We can… research that tomorrow?" Sokka asked, innocently. Azula blinked blankly. "You with the servants… I with Kuei himself?"

"Tomorrow?" she repeated. Sokka bit his lip. "Well, that's…"

She wasn't so stupid as to not understand his implication: he wasn't disregarding his work, not at all, and neither was she, that was stupid to even think about…

But they had started something in that damn closet.

And one climax was certainly not enough to consider it finished.

"If you agree…" Sokka said, closing his eyes raising his hands defensively. "If you'd rather we go right back out to track down someone who can get us all the information on royal birthing protocols, that's fine too, I just thought today had been a tiresome enough day to…"

He had been betting on it. He had been waiting for it. And he damn smiled when he felt that hand clawing at his blue shirt with enough strength to rip into the fabric.

And then he was swimming in the bliss of their joined lips for one more moment, as he nearly knocked her chair over upon kissing her back too enthusiastically. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and this time he didn't hesitate for an instant before swooping her into them, carrying her towards the fancy, elegant bed Kuei had granted him for this visit. He was quite fortunate for having gotten along with the king, and encouraged him to find his true calling by traveling the world, back when Azula herself had taken his kingdom. Otherwise he might have received a lesser suite… and this obnoxious opulence seemed to him the perfect environment in which to devote himself to Azula.

He dropped her on the mattress, and she nearly bounced with recoil as he pulled the sash and his clothes came undone yet again. Azula smiled as she watched them fall off his body… his glorious body that seemed to shine pure gold under the brightness of those lanterns. Sokka only had to shrug off his shirt, and toss off his boots to be fully naked… and Azula devoured him with her eyes, taking in that impossibly attractive body as she began undoing the fastenings of her own clothes.

"I thought… it had been a tiresome day?" Azula teased him. Sokka smirked.

"Yeah. Because I just wanted it to be nighttime already," he said. His insinuation made her laugh as he finally did away with all his clothes and climbed atop her, stealing a quick kiss from her lips that left her aching for more.

"You're clearly desperate to get some sleep, right…?" Azula said, smiling as he pulled her tunic over her head slowly. She never thought being undressed by a man could be this exciting, but her skin felt delectably feverish wherever his hands grazed her.

"With you? Hell, yeah," he blurted out, tossing the tunic aside before diving for another kiss.

Azula moaned, raising her legs awkwardly so she could remove her own shoes. She tossed them carelessly away, just as Sokka undid her own sash and pulled her clothes open… just as he had wanted to, from the first moment he had seen her wearing that damn revealing white sleeping gown… unlike him, Azula had underwear, but he didn't wait to remove it before covering her breasts with kisses, even over the bindings of her chest. Azula moaned, arching her body against him, struggling to shove off her own trousers… and, upon being unable to push them lower than mid-thigh, since his body pressed into hers, she took to caressing his strong back instead. She moaned delectably into his lips, appreciating his powerful build notoriously… and then he broke off the kiss to attack her neck next. Azula threw her head back, moaning far more carelessly now: she knew he wanted to hear her, to feel each vibration of her vocal cords, and she'd give him exactly that… was she being too generous? Too easy? Somehow, any such concerns were so superfluous that night she couldn't bother pondering them more than once. This felt right… it felt good. Better than good. He knew what he wanted, and he was chasing for it, and what he wanted was nothing other than her. Who could say no to a marvelous man who was giving himself so willingly…?

He sat up again, doing away with her lower body's clothes… and he smirked mischievously as he unabashedly gazed at her exposed nether region. Azula kicked at him playfully, smiling as she made to close her spread legs, but Sokka grunted in a sensual manner, clasping her knees to keep them apart.

"If you think I'm a sick pervert for wanting to look at every bit of you… then yes, I'm a sick pervert" Sokka smirked. Azula laughed and shook her head.

"I have no right to complain, do I…?" she said, gazing lustfully at his groin.

"True… you've been checking me out for a while, haven't you?" he teased her, urging her to sit up too. Azula snorted, her cheeks flushing as she closed her eyes: she raised her arms, allowing Sokka to undo her chest bindings slowly… revealing her to his greedy gaze with each loop he undid.

"How's someone not supposed to check out their partner in crime… if he shows up soaking wet, wearing just a towel, at the door?" Azula smiled. Sokka snickered.

"Liked what you saw…?"

"You like that I liked it…"

"Damn right I do," he whispered, stealing one more kiss from her lips as the last of her bindings came off…

And her full, plump breasts were revealed to his gaze at last. He groaned, leaning in to press his face to the mounds. They had been held down tightly, he thought… maybe they hurt a little, right? And now, free from those restraints, they'd need some massaging for the sake of relieving Azula from any potential pain… that made sense, right?

He didn't even know why he was making up excuses to fondle her chest, let alone once Azula began moaning heartily. Her nipples hardened against his palm, and Sokka groaned teasingly at the delectable sensation. Whether she needed a massage or not, clearly her chest was sensitive… and very receptive to his touch. And as far as he was concerned, he could continue touching it for hours if she allowed it. Oh, he really hoped she'd allow it… he was fine with her branding him a depraved fool if she wanted to do so, he simply needed to have her, all of her, and unless she stopped him, he intended to do as much right away.

She didn't stop him… but she did tighten her legs around his waist and swapped them on the mattress, all be it to find her own chance to devour his neck at leisure, to caress his chest just as he had hers. Whenever she rose, the glow of the lanterns would fall upon her body, and every curve would be highlighted in such an exciting manner Sokka's mouth watered for it. He took Azula by surprise when, upon rising once after nibbling on his neck, Sokka's lips landed on her collarbone, moving lower slowly… she knew what he was up to, and as embarrassing as it was to moan in such a careless manner, she couldn't stop doing as much. She threw her head back and cried out, letting him lavish her breasts in turns, his mouth toying with her nipples in particular as he cast quick, teasing glances at her. His blue eyes appeared black with desire tonight… and that was how Azula wanted them to be. She wasn't often the recipient of anyone's lust… fear, yes. Envy, all the time. Spite, everywhere she went. But lust…? Let alone this much of it, so unabashed and unrestrained…?

She knew her sounds were more than a little embarrassing, but so what? Yet again, this was convenient. If the entire damn palace discovered Sokka was sleeping with an apparently common maid, he'd merely look like a lecherous idiot who picked up a girl at random… and she'd look like a fool who got swept up by the charming war hero. And no one, especially not that damn lord Yao and his associate, would ever suspect they were onto them.

That thought brought her to smile as she gave herself to her pleasure wholeheartedly. Let them hear… let everyone hear. She didn't care, for there was no reason to hold back. It felt amazing, and it would protect them too, should any danger befall them. Who'd have thought sex could be the perfect answer, and the ideal cover, in the middle of a job…? She'd have to drag Sokka into more of her missions, it'd be an amazing side activity to keep herself as inconspicuous as possible in the eyes of the people she had to investigate…

Sokka tugged down her clothes again, wrapping an arm around her to hoist Azula onto her side: he dragged the clothes off her legs, taking advantage of the situation to touch her thighs as boldly as he dared. And all the while, his mouth toyed with her breats, providing Azula with more surging pleasure than she knew what to do with.

"Y-you… really seem to like that…" Azula managed to say between moans.

"Here I thought you were the one who liked it…" Sokka said, with a toothy smirk before nibbling on her nipple. Azula cried out, half-laughing, half-moaning as she allowed him to pin her down again as he had his way with her. Oh, let it be. He wanted her, and she rather enjoyed the consequences of being the object of his desires right now.

Her body thrusted upwards towards him, urging him to take care of another part of her body, and Sokka complied, slipping a hand south once again. A hand he intended to replace with his mouth shortly, but he just needed a little longer of those soft mounds, just a little longer…

"Y-you're… y-you're going to be the death of me… if you keep this up…" Azula moaned desperately. Sokka snickered before delivering one more long, defiant suck to her nipple, eliciting yet another cry of pleasure from her.

"You sound amazing now that you're not trying to stifle everything in a closet," Sokka smirked.

"Like making me moan, do you…?" she asked. "There's… other ways to achieve that pretty easily, if you must know."

"Oh, my… I wonder what you mean…?" he said, teasingly, as he crept down her body, pressing slow, open mouthed kisses across her toned abs.

Azula smiled, closing her eyes: he sucked every bit of her skin his mouth fell upon, as though branding her his own… why did that thought stir so much excitement in her heart? Was it because her every partner before Sokka had been lackluster, quick encounters that went nowhere? Or was it knowing he wanted her, to the point of behaving almost possessively, had driven her mad with joyful pleasure…?

Sokka's brain was nothing but a cloud of bliss: her body was impossibly alluring to the eye, even more delightful to touch and taste directly. And while her perfume's fragrance certainly did a number on him back in the closet, there was yet another scent catching his attention now… a scent that demanded he buried his face in her sopping wet core, something he did without holding back at all.

"Y-you…! Oh shit, you glutton…!" Azula gasped, nearly kicking out when his mouth fell upon her folds. He was devouring her as though he were famished… which he possibly was, in quite a literal sense too, considering he'd skipped dinner. Was that why his mouth took her in so hungrily? If so, she'd make sure he wouldn't eat much right before the next time they…

… Next time? Would there be a next time?

Well. She'd certainly do her best to make sure there was one.

She only spread her legs further, giving Sokka all the room and opportunity to take her in as he pleased. Shivers rushed across her body, concentrating at her core, as though all her energy was focusing, ready to explode. She didn't quite need another release to be ready for his magnificent manhood… but if he would be selfless enough to gift her one, she wasn't about to refuse it.

More moans poured from her lips, and she thrusted at his face lightly, begging him to keep going. Sokka grunted right back in his masculine, sensual manner, and Azula felt as though she were about to catch fire for it. Who could've ever imagined that boy she'd fought against in a war, so long ago, would prove to be the best lover she had ever had…? It defied reason, she thought, and yet it was such a welcome discovery…

She kept her eyes closed as she navigated her excitement with him: she gasped when she felt his hands traveling over her abdomen again, right over her ribcage, and then he was squeezing her breasts yet again… Oh, he was a menace. He wanted to take every part of her body for himself, Azula guessed… and she wanted to give them to him, impulsively so. Why not? Why hold back? She bit her lip in a failed attempt to stifle another moan, and then he sucked on her clit with such devious power, while rubbing the tip of his tongue insistently on the rawest spot, that she climaxed chaotically once again, her whole body an erupting volcano, lava rushing through her veins at alarming speed with each pump of her heart. Sokka lapped at her folds eagerly, taking in every juice that appeared to escape her entrance, and he chuckled at each jolt of her body, every involuntary shudder upon the surging pleasure.

"Y-you… you're just… oh, to hell with you…" Azula moaned, clasping his hands in her own… but not to remove them from their spots at her breasts, rather, to encourage him to touch her further. Sokka chuckled.

"Much better than dinner, I'd say," he smirked, rising slowly. "Looks to me like I've conquered Ba Sing Se's conqueror, huh…?"

"You what?" she said, opening her eyes to level him with an outraged glare… one he fielded with a still proud smirk, as he pulled his right hand back, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"You heard me," he said, defiantly. Azula scoffed, shaking her head.

"Proud of yourself, are you?" she asked, as his smile widened. "Why… I'm afraid I won't acknowledge that title you've bestowed upon yourself."

"You won't?" Sokka asked, amused.

"No… at least, not yet," Azula said, and a smile spread over her face. Sokka raised his eyebrows, intrigued… more so when Azula spread her legs even more shamelessly, exposing herself completely to him. "Surely you realize… you have one stage left still?"

"Ah… I breached the outer wall with the first kiss?" Sokka asked, teasingly, leaning towards her. "Then maybe the lower ring with the first orgasm… middle ring with the second. Now it's time for the third?"

"Give me four and you'll be sitting pretty on the throne, too," Azula smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. Sokka couldn't hold back a laugh as he pressed his brow to hers.

"You're… you're hot. Extremely hot," he decided. Azula scoffed.

"Tell me something I don't know… I am, after all, a firebender," she declared, proudly. Sokka laughed and dared kiss her lips quickly, unsure if she'd be comfortable upon tasting herself on his mouth.

"That's not quite what I meant, but you're funny anyway," he smiled. "Never expected you to be so playful…"

"Never expected…?" Azula asked, smirking. "That suggests you've thought about this before. About pinning me to your bed, and not just to a wall…?"

"Hmm… the thought did occur to me, once in a while," he said, pressing soft, slow kisses over her cheek. Azula's smirk widened.

"When?" she asked. Sokka snorted.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, deliberately angling his body so his hardened shaft would rub against her sensitive clit: Azula jolted and cried out, only for Sokka to smirk deviously. Curse him, he had a dark, mischievous streak, on top of everything else… he was a tease, in the best of ways. To hell with this, if they kept this up, she'd wind up asking him to marry her before the night was out… "I might as well ask you the same question, Princess… did you think about me this way before? When?"

"Nuh-uh… you'll tell me first," she decided, reaching down between their bodies to clasp his shaft in her hand again. Sokka gasped as she smirked knowingly. "Look at that… fully charged and ready to shoot your lightning bolt, are you?"

"Something like that," Sokka conceded, laughing softly. "Ugh, you know what? You like games. I like games. Whoever comes first… answers first. 'Kay?"

"That… is not a bad idea, actually," Azula smiled. Sokka snickered.

"Good. Because I know I have leverage," he said, lowering himself again: her hand released his sturdy cock, and he dragged its head across her folds teasingly. Azula moaned heartily, rolling her eyes back over the sheer pleasure. "You're as sensitive as can be, after all…"

"And you're fully erect… and looking glorious," she said, smirking as she ventured a devious glance at his shaft. Sokka actually laughed at the shameless remark. "I don't think it'll be quite as easy for you to win as you hope, Sokka…"

"I'll conquer the conqueror… if it takes every last bit of my willpower," he decided, speaking with feigned seriousness. Azula could only laugh, even though he overtook her lips with teasing kisses moments later.

And slowly but surely, his cock's head began breaching her entrance: Azula moaned even more sensually than before, embracing Sokka urgently… most intentionally, hoping he'd go deeper once she pulled him closer. Sokka caved in, letting their hips loom closer until they were in full contact once he was deep inside her… and her moans were amazing by then. With her neck fully exposed, he couldn't help himself but kiss her skin, nibbling on it teasingly as he rolled back slowly, withdrawing himself to the tip… and them ramming back through her, faster than she expected. She yelped, clawing at his back, and Sokka groaned – the pleasure made him lightheaded too, no matter how strategic he was trying to be. She was so warm and wet… how would he ever resist until she finished again? It felt heavenly, being inside her…

He breathed out slowly before latching onto her neck next, biting lightly, but sucking harder. Her fingers clutched at his back, lightly when the pleasure was bearable… and clawing at him when it was overwhelming, as it was with each of his violent thrusts. And yet the smile on her face every time he stopped once he was buried to the hilt… she liked this. She loved this. It was as intense and savage as she needed it to be, apparently. Only…

"Y-you tease…" she said, between moans: he had done it again, drawing far back again: her breath hitched with anticipation and she cried out again once he rammed inside her potently. "Ah, just…! Go all the way, damn you…!"

"I… thought I was…?" Sokka smiled, reeling back again. Azula's chest heaved delightfully against his… and he smirked mischievously. "You sure you want me to stop the teasing?"

"Yes… yes," she said, letting her hands move up to his face: she pulled him in for a clumsy, sloppy kiss he couldn't seem to get enough of. "Fuck me like you mean it…"

"If you say so…" he smirked, stealing one more kiss…

Before drilling into her raw and powerfully, rolling his hips back only to thrust anew instants later. Azula's loud moans surged further, her nails catching his back once again as he thrusted and thrusted, faster yet, like a train-tank doing away with every line of defense…

And it was incredibly pleasant, both for the man who thrusted powerfully, rhythmically, even if his heart seemed to be about to fail him with how fast it was beating, and the woman underneath him, who thrusted right back into him, yielding her control of the situation only enough to let him understand that he only fucked her as he did because she allowed it… because she wanted him to. And her conditions and terms were perfectly agreeable for him, just as well.

Anyone else might have faltered at such a rhythm, Azula suspected, but her partner had the stamina and strength needed to power through while continuing to adorn her neck with the most delightful hickeys, to match with the scratches she couldn't help but trace across his back whenever he overwhelmed her. Sokka hardly seemed affected by the scratches, just as Azula was only stimulated by everything his mouth did to her neck… for both their conscious minds were focused on the joining of their bodies above anything else. The pleasure was rising, threatening to burst with the violence of a geyser, and neither one wanted to stop. Their challenge and bet forgotten, they couldn't seem to slow down their pace, and neither one wanted to do so anyway. Sokka only pulled away from her neck to gaze at her excited face for a moment… to take in the sweaty pearls trailing down her face before stealing a powerful kiss from her lips. She returned it tenfold, licking and sucking his lips as she moaned seemingly endlessly: his thrusts were powerful, hands clutching her thighs to further control the spread of her legs… and to Azula's surprise, he actually closed them rather than pushing them further apart. He wanted to tighten things, did he…? Well, if that's how he wanted it, she'd gladly relent.

Sokka yelped when her walls suddenly squeezed him. Azula moaned softly, but the knowing smirk on her face spoke lengths about how sure of herself she still was. Sokka gasped against her lips when she squeezed again: he kept thrusting even though her latest course of action was threatening to throw him off completely… oh, but it felt too good. He gritted his teeth, only for Azula to cover his lips with kisses, compelling him to steal another wild, deep one from her mouth.

Another squeeze, and his brain seemed shot with a tranquilizer: he couldn't think anymore, he was all impulse and instinct, and that meant he was thrusting recklessly, kissing her lustfully, touching her boldly… and she squeezed again, and again, and again, encouraging him further, begging for more mindless thrusting until those deliberate squeezes weren't quite so intentional anymore.

"I… I'm close…" Azula announced. Sokka grunted back as he kissed her powerfully, encouraging her to reach for that peak as she wished…

Violent shaking overtook her, and she gasped and shuddered violently as her hands clawed harder at his back: her piercing cry probably was heard all the way to where the damn hitman was sleeping in the seventh floor, as loud and careless as it was. And even then, when her walls now squeezed him in a whole involuntary manner, Sokka thrusted savagely inside her until, in his mindlessness, his release loomed so close he could do nothing to slow it down, let alone when those shuddering walls were driving him mad with pleasure…

He finished inside her, carelessly, recklessly, disregarding all risks, forgetting to ask if she had taken any form of birth control, which she likely hadn't… oh, nothing seemed to matter right now. All he wanted was to deplete himself fully, and as he thrusted further, he achieved exactly that, gifting himself to Azula while he groaned and moaned with each sway of his hips.

He collapsed atop her when he was all done, and their heavy breaths matched as their bodies regulated again… that is, if they ever would. Somehow, it felt like they would spend the rest of their days with an unquenchable sexual drive, a primal urge to merge with each other without restraint… just as they had now. Sokka breathed out and pushed himself up with some difficulty, supporting his weight with his elbows.

"Didn't mean to crush you… sorry 'bout that…" he said. Azula snorted. "Though… if you don't mind, that's fine too."

"I like it, rather," Azula declared. Sokka chuckled, stroking her hair gently. "What's so funny?"

"You're… smiling. More than I think you ever have since I've known you," he chuckled. Azula snorted and laughed heartily now. "I guess it's fitting, eh? You just needed to have sex with me to feel better about life. Perfect remedy, eh?"

"Joke all you like, that was… that was something," Azula laughed, still unable to stop smiling. "And I… I finished first. Damn. You won, after all. Though… you're still missing one climax, you know? You're in the upper ring now, but…"

"Not in the palace yet?" Sokka chuckled. "Well, then, I guess I know what I'll be doing next, greedy Princess…"

"You're the one who wanted to conquer me. I'm just establishing the rules," Azula smirked. Sokka laughed, pressing quick, soft kisses to her lips.

"Still… you did come first. Tell me… when did you start wondering how good we'd be together?" he asked, prodding her nose with his own. Azula sighed.

"It's all your fault… yours and yours alone," she whispered. "If you'd just quit pinning me to walls that often, I wouldn't think about you sexually…"

"Huh… I've got to do that more often, then," Sokka teased her. Azula laughed and shook her head.

"You're a piece of work, aren't you?" she smiled. He grinned cheekily right back at her. "You?"

"Probably the same time, actually," he chuckled. "I liked talking up close to you in that corridor a bit more than I should've… and then you pointed out we were too close and I pulled away because I thought you were uncomfortable, but not because I didn't want to be this close…"

"Hmmm… good to know," Azula grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck and reeling him in for one more heartfelt kiss…

One that turned dangerous as his hand slipped between their bodies and took to prodding her clit. Azula gasped.

"H-hey, you don't have to try already…" she said. Sokka snickered.

"Might be I want to… I like your moans. They're sexy," he said, and his pronunciation of the word made her shiver against his strong body. She wanted more, forget all caution and sense, she was going to lose her mind if he didn't make her come again…

A knock on the bedroom door.

Azula damn near cursed out loud upon the sound… upon Sokka's abrupt pause, and wary glance at the door. He swallowed hard and offered Azula an apologetic grimace before uncoupling their bodies – his cock wasn't ready for another round yet, but with Azula's sounds, it was certainly starting to rear its head yet again… only to be disappointed by the interruption.

"Here," Sokka said, yanking the sheet off the bed quickly and covering Azula's body with it. The Princess groaned as Sokka collected his pants and pulled them up again – still no underwear. And now she found that a most agreeable choice. "It's probably nothing…"

"Nothing?" Azula repeated. No, her senses said otherwise…

It was late. It was very late at night, as far as she could tell. Most people wouldn't be awake by now… nor would they be eager to knock on the southerner's door unless they had a good reason for it. And Azula only reached a sudden conclusion about what the interruption might be mere instants before Sokka opened the door.

"Oh, e-excuse me, sir…" said the nervous young man at the other side of the door: he failed to recognize the woman in the bed, and he didn't stop to pay much attention to the clothes scattered in the room. That being said… he was flustered. Yes, he'd heard Azula. At this point, the whole damn city might have heard her. "But King Kuei… he asked me to inform you, since you were so keen on being beside him once the baby was about to come to this world…"

"W-wait, what?!" Sokka exclaimed. The nervous man grimaced. "How can that be?!"

"Well, seeing what you were up to, I doubt you don't know how it came to this…"

"What the…?! That's not what I meant!" Sokka squealed, his cheeks flushing. "Ugh, I'll be there! Just… take a walk! I'll be right out!"

Sokka slammed the door shut, and Azula wasted no time climbing off the bed: finding each clothing garment, regardless of the lanterns Sokka had lit, wasn't all that easy, but Azula managed to patch up her servant persona as best she could by the time Sokka managed to fasten his sash around his waist.

"I can help you with your hair," he offered. Azula grimaced, having been halfway through composing a clumsy knot, but Sokka took over for her as she sighed in defeat.

"Curse that damn baby for deciding this was the best timing to arrive…" Azula growled. Sokka chuckled, finishing her hairdo and hugging her gently afterwards.

"It should take a while before it's born. If it looks too slow, we can go find a dark corner and get right back to this…"

"I'd love that, but we do need to keep an eye on the damn assassin. If it's just one assassin," Azula said, glancing at Sokka warily. Sokka grimaced but nodded. "We don't know how widespread Yao's plan may be. He could have more than just one hitman…"

"He should have more than one," said Sokka, frowning. "Kuei shouldn't be in the same place as his child, right? So one hitman for him… another for the baby."

They exchanged a quick glance: each of them had a job, then, as they'd agreed upon before. And they'd do best to fulfill them, as fast as possible.

Sokka fisted Azula's hair before pulling her close for one more kiss. She relented most willingly, venturing to taste him with her tongue, to feel every ridge in his mouth, to memorize his every detail… their duty was dangerous, after all. What they'd do next… it might not end well if they weren't careful. A good luck kiss wouldn't hurt at all either, would it?

"We'll get back to it… as soon as this is over, if not sooner," Sokka promised. Azula smiled and nodded.

"I should hope so. I look forward to your final campaign, conqueror Sokka," she smirked, stepping towards the door. He chuckled and followed suit.

The palace wasn't as quiet as it ever was at these hours: maybe with all the ruckus over the baby's birth, their obnoxious coupling had been slightly less obvious than they had suspected. They rushed together to the birthing area, and Azula glanced at Sokka once more to confirm their plan. He nodded, smiled, and squeezed her hand gently before rushing away, towards the living room where Kuei was waiting.

The queen was crying when Azula entered the room, and her heart sank for it… until she realized it was just about the pain. She breathed out in relief for it, assessing her surroundings quickly… assessing the rest of the servants warily: nearly all of them looked exhausted, obviously displeased to be woken in case the queen needed anything… except for one young girl. She appeared completely alert, watching the queen intently… so intently she didn't seem to realize Azula was watching her.

Sokka barged into Kuei's living room… and Yao was there, of course, an arm wrapped around the nervous king who kept pacing nervously inside the large hall. Sokka approached, offering his support too… Kuei threw himself at Sokka, and Bosco sniffed Sokka's body, as though picking up an unexpected odor on him. The water tribesman grimaced, eyeing the surroundings with uncertainty: while he had been alerted because Kuei had thought he'd feel safer this way, there was obviously no reason why Yao should be here too. And it seemed Yao knew as much as well: he justified his presence by claiming he had been with Kuei when the news had been broken, and he had merely been worried about leaving the king to his own devices at such late hours.

Kuei's behavior was odd, Sokka found, though… and he only realized why when he unintentionally caught the scent of the king's breath: alcohol. He had been drinking, perhaps with Yao… it'd make it all the easier to target him.

Sokka eyed his surroundings anxiously: the living room had a few windows, could Yao's hitman be somewhere behind them, out of reach? If so…

"You know what you need, pal?" Sokka decided, grinning as he clapped Kuei's back. "A new environment!"

"A… what?" Kuei said, blinking blankly. Sokka grinned mischievously.

"Let's take a walk! Find the best room in the palace to spend your time in while we wait for the baby to be born. It'll be a while anyway."

Random as the idea sounded, Sokka didn't miss the disapproving scowl on Yao's face as he guided the Earth King out of the room. There were so many rooms, countless of them… and if he could pick up a retinue of soldiers in the process, better yet.

Meanwhile, as the queen cried further, complaining about every contraction, Azula managed to reach the one-track-mind servant, tapping her shoulder gently: the young woman nearly jumped out of her skin, as Azula bit her lip and asked if she could speak with her in private about something very important.

The fear in the woman's face was obvious: she thought she'd been had. She refused at first, but the others encouraged her to go, and promised they wouldn't fall asleep while the queen was struggling to bring the baby to the world. Azula breathed out and led the young woman through the hallways, biting her lip as she clung to her arm as any shy, nervous maid might…

"What's the problem? Did you… find out something surprising?" the maid asked. Azula bit her lip.

"Y-yeah. I definitely did," she said. "I'm a little worried. I… I don't think it'll sit well with the Earth King, or the Earth Queen, so I thought I'd get your advice. Everyone else looked like they were about to fall asleep, so…"

"Yeah, well, that's precisely why I should be there," the maid argued. "I'm the only one who had a proper rest over the evening, you see…"

"Ah, no wonder," said Azula, smiling awkwardly. "Why, though…?"

"Because I always take the night shifts," the servant declared, stubbornly. "Anyway, if you have nothing to say…"

"I do have something to say," Azula whispered, stopping at the end of a corridor that led nowhere but to a maintenance room. "The truth is, I…"

"What?!" the maid said, exasperated over the pause. Azula gritted her teeth, covering her face with her hands.

"I-I was seduced by a guest!"

The maid blinked blankly for a moment, as Azula turned an innocent gaze upon her. Ah, she didn't expect that, did she?

"I'll be in trouble, won't I?" she said. "Oh, but he's… he's irresistible. He just hit on me and the next thing I knew… ah, do you think the hickeys show too much? I'm going to be in so much trouble if anyone knows…"

"I… no!" said the maid, laughing carelessly now: good. Her guard was down, as Azula showed her the undeniable marks on her neck. "Oh, please, it's hardly the first time anything like this happens… you don't have to worry, truly. Come on, let's go back, the king and queen have bigger things to worry about than whoever their servants sleep with, okay?"

"You're sure…?" Azula asked. The young woman nodded. Azula sighed as the maid started to turn around…

And that was when Azula struck her hard, delivering a powerful blow to the carotid artery, knocking the woman unconscious immediately.

Azula caught the woman in midair, using her servants' keys to open the maintenance closet: she tossed the maid there, took the woman's own assorted keys, and locked her within. She'd come back for her later, once everything was safe. She couldn't know for sure if this woman was an ally of Yao's yet – despite she reeked of it –, but if she wasn't, the enemy would still be within the vicinity. She returned at haste to the queen's room, but instead of marching inside alone, which would garner a lot of suspicions, she only lingered by the door, listening… listening carefully. There was a lot of activity inside right now, and Azula flinched at each desperate cry of the queen's – oh, but she was a fool, wasn't she? She'd allowed Sokka to finish inside, with no countermeasures… and she damn refused to bear his child and wind up screaming for not-quite-fun reasons in the near future, just as the queen did right now. She'd find some contraceptive measures as soon as possible…

Ten minutes later, a piercing, shrill voice broke across the already noisy palace.

Azula grimaced and pushed the door open lightly, ready to act if need be…

"A baby girl! Oh, she is delightful!"

Azula's eyes widened. A girl. If it was a girl, then Yao and his people would likely target the child. She snarled and entered the room quickly, watching as the rest of the servants clapped excitedly as the baby was taken care of, wiped and cleansed for her mother to hold. No one had done anything suspicious so far… so had she chosen correctly? Had she found the culprit, or one of them, anyway?

"The king must be informed!"

Oh, hell. That could be trouble.

Azula grimaced and stepped closer to the queen and the baby – in her not so humble opinion, it was frankly a rather ugly child… – taking up a resting defensive position near them. She played it off as mere curiosity about the baby… while constantly casting glances at the door, wary about what would happen next.

Kuei nearly lost his cool when the servants arrived with a message. Sokka frowned, glancing about himself: he'd successfully gathered around five soldiers, but would they be enough in case the king needed help…?

"A girl…? My child is born! It's a girl, Sokka!"

Sokka froze. Oh, hell: they'd go for the baby.

Kuei only hugged him quickly before sprinting off at haste, followed by his soldiers… and not by Yao.

"Where are you going?" Sokka asked, smiling dryly. Yao froze. "Mind if I tag along?"

"W-why would you…?" he said, grimacing. "You wanted to be with the king…"

"To help calm him down. He's fine now, see? The baby is born. A nice, healthy little girl," Sokka grinned. "Are you so tired you want to go take a nap in your room? The… seventh floor, was it?"

Yao grimaced, and Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"Y-you… are you accusing me of something?" Yao asked. Sokka blinked blankly.

"Is there anything to accuse you of?" he grinned, dryly.

"No!"

"Then why so nervous?" Sokka chuckled. "Just let me accompany you to your room. I'm sure Kuei's fine on his own now that he knows his baby is alive and safe."

Yao snarled but complied. Sokka followed him, just as well. Back to the scene of the crime… to where he had started this wild, strange dalliance with Azula. And boy, he sure regretted nothing about it… but he needed to focus on more than thoughts of his new lover's delectable body and clever wit for now. He'd have more of those later, if she let him.

Yao opened the door, allowing Sokka to see inside the dark room… and yet Sokka stood outside, arms crossed, waiting for Yao to do whatever he intended to. Yao, of course, realized as much… and he entered the room slowly.

Only for Sokka to kick it shut and jam the lock by sabotaging it with his knife, violently.

"H-hey! HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

He'd track down the damn killer. He wasn't in the room, Sokka had noticed… the man was in position somewhere, no idea where, but surely within range of the room… oh, Azula. She was there too, she might be able to stop him, he hoped, and if she was…

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, feeling almost as though he were an airbender as he raced to the birthing wing once again. Yet he wasn't the only one reaching it right then and there…

"STOP!" Sokka shouted.

The shaggy-haired man, with the thick beard, froze in place for only a brief instant before attacking: he cast a smoke bomb at Sokka, but the warrior braced himself regardless, covering his mouth with one hand and withdrawing his boomerang from its scabbard. He launched it at haste, trusting his prediction of the killer's trajectory…

The man had only just opened the door when the weapon struck him on the lower back.

The happy room suddenly became a loud, messy pandemonium… but where everyone seemed to run away from the door, one servant ran straight towards it instead: a kick of blue fire slammed the already weakened enemy across the corridor and into the wall at its far end, and his head struck violently against it.

"Sokka!" she called for him, rushing towards the cloud of smoke.

It was so dense she could barely see him, but eventually a silhouette could be distinguished: Sokka crept out slowly, coughing as the unpleasant smoke bit into his system.

"Are you okay? Sokka…" Azula asked, pulling him closer. Sokka coughed again but smiled.

"I'm… alright. Better now that I'm seeing you again," he said. "Is he…?"

"Dead? Maybe," Azula admitted, casting a glance at the unmoving, bleeding tall man that had fallen in a heap on the floor. "But I've captured a suspect…"

"And I locked up Yao," Sokka said. Azula blinked blankly, surprised by how similar their strategies had turned out to be, as they heard footsteps behind them: the servants, the soldiers, and in all likelihood, Kuei, were on their way. "Which is why I think… we might just be able to spin this to our favor."

"Y-you… you saved us?! And our baby?!" Kuei asked, staring at Sokka and his companion in disbelief… a companion he had identified by her unique flames, naturally. "You… you're Princess Azula?!"

She turned around very slowly, with a rather guilty grin on her face. Kuei appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown, whether of joy, outrage, relief or confusion… and confirming that his dreaded enemy had entered his palace, disguised herself as a servant and lived amongst his people for over a week and a half, certainly wouldn't help his frequent nerves and constant anxiety.

"You sure about that?" Azula asked Sokka, uneasy. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head.

"Just… trust me," he smiled, before stepping towards Kuei.

* * *

Iroh's teashop was yet another strange location Azula had never thought she'd set foot on, but apparently it was the only place in Ba Sing Se that would allow her safe haven, for the time being. She sat on a far-end table, sipping a drink, ignoring her uncle's confused, pointed stares… and of course, reliving the latest events in her mind.

She could have been thinking of the aftermath, with Kuei fluctuating between panic and gratefulness at the drop of a hat, especially once both Yao and his female accomplice were brought before him, and the accomplice blatantly confessed the truth of their schemes – she had been working for Kuei for over a decade, but it seemed Yao had blackmailed her into working for him by threatening her family in the western Earth Kingdom, and she was more than happy to sell him out for it now. Azula could have also been reliving the action, the rush to take down the murder operation as fast as possible, splitting up with her partner so they both could keep every threat in check…

But no. She was, of course, reliving the sensation of a certain someone's lips and caresses upon her skin, of his manly shaft tearing through her with those slow withdrawals and sudden thrusts that made her mind swim in blissful pleasure. Oh, whatever happened next, she needed more of that, so much more of that… surely being spymaster for Zuko for about five years was enough community service for her misdeeds after the war, right? She could take a break, steal that handsome man away, spend about a month or two, or a year, even a lifetime, locked up in a private room with him, as they had their way with each other… she wanted to dominate him the next time around, yes she did, and pin him to the wall, for a change, and…

The door of the teashop opened, despite it was already closing time, and most customers were long gone: Azula's eyes lit up immediately when she identified the apparent new customer, who scanned the area quickly until he spotted her. That he smiled immediately was a blissful relief.

"Well… looks like you could stand being here, after all," Sokka grinned, sinking into a seat across hers. Azula bit her lip, wishing he'd sat beside her instead… kissing him would've been much easier that way. "Kuei's calmed down."

"Hard to believe," Azula smiled. Sokka laughed and shrugged.

"He isn't completely sure he can trust you yet, which is as predictable as can be from the guy," Sokka said. "But he says he'll credit you for helping save his family all the same. That being said… you're still not allowed to visit Ba Sing Se freely."

"Heh. Well, I'll just find something else to disguise myself as the next time," Azula smirked. "I was a servant this time, I pretended to be your ex the last time… who should I be next?"

"Maybe you don't have to pretend to be my ex… and you can just be my actual girlfriend," Sokka suggested. Azula snorted, staring at him in disbelief as he grinned cheekily. "Yep, I'm asking. Bluntly. Boldly. Why not?"

"… Would that get me access to Ba Sing Se's palace?" Azula asked. Sokka snorted.

"You really need access to it that badly?" he asked.

"A spymaster needs eyes everywhere," Azula smiled. "And access to all the places that might need her attention. If the palace is within my reach, I can better understand what's happening inside it… and then advise my dumb brother on how to proceed with his own ventures."

"Right," Sokka said, sighing. "Well, Kuei says that if you come with me every time you want to be in the palace, he'll relent and allow you to stay. But not if you're on your own."

"Really? And how about if we break up dramatically over something stupid?" Azula asked, teasing him. "Will I still be forced to travel to Ba Sing Se with you even if we're on terrible terms?"

"Eh, if we ever do have a bad argument, I can always pin you to a wall and we can resolve it the old-fashioned way… works like a charm, huh?" Sokka said, shrugging cockily. Azula laughed and shook her head.

"I have no idea what we're doing, Sokka… but I do know I like it," she said, smiling at him. "You're sure about this? About me? About asking me to be your… girlfriend? It's a rather juvenile term, in my opinion…"

"Want another one?" Sokka smiled. "Partner in crime suits you better?"

"Partner could be good," Azula said. "We did make a deal when this whole ordeal began, didn't it? And while you're splendid in bed, we worked together beyond that, too… it's not quite as simple as being your girlfriend, right?"

"No. But I'll still introduce you to everyone we bump into as my girlfriend from this day forward," Sokka grinned. Azula scoffed. "And myself as your boyfriend, of course."

"How's that going to work? 'Hello there, she is my girlfriend, I am her boyfriend'? Sounds like you won't be saying anything about yourself or me by doing that…"

"Isn't that how you'd rather keep things, spymaster?" Sokka grinned. "Juvenile as it may be… no one will suspect what your true job is, head of Fire Nation intelligence, if they think you and your boyfriend are just a pair of idiot twenty-somethings who can't seem to stop having sex wherever they go…"

"Ah… a rather useful cover story," Azula grinned. "Funny how so many chaotic problems get resolved whenever those two idiot twenty-somethings who can't seem to stop having sex show up at places…"

"It's a true mystery, isn't it?" Sokka said. Azula laughed and shook her head. "So… if I may do the honors this time as well: do we have a deal, Azula?"

He extended his hand towards her, and she smiled. With a quick movement, she rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him heartily while clasping his hand in hers. A cup broke near the counter – of course, Iroh had no suspicions she was doing Sokka, no one outside the palace would've known it yet – and decided that yes, it was a good cover story. A perfect relationship to both bask in for what it was… and to wield as a shield, allowing them both to remain perfectly disguised while playing the fools and resolving the many problems their respective friends and associations expected them to fix for them. And as Azula kissed Sokka long, deep and sensually, she could see absolutely nothing harmful in the new terms he had offered. Her lips were still pressed to his, her fingers intertwined with his, when she finally said:

"Deal."


	7. Day 7: Loyalty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So very sorry for the late entry. I've been having some really serious computer problems lately, I was lucky I finished writing the chapter BEFORE tragedy struck, but it still took me a while to go over the whole thing so it'd be ready to be posted. It's been quite the ordeal of a weekend, ngl.
> 
> I'll leave more notes at the end. This is definitely the darkest of my entries so far, so even if there's concepts you dislike... try to bear with me :'D

He knew it. He knew from the start that frozen kid was going to be trouble, but who listens to Sokka? No one ever listens to Sokka. Even the tribe's children never listen to Sokka.

He couldn't stop scowling as he fit his warrior's outfit into place. He didn't have any armor, he was meant to craft his own with his father once he returned from the war… if he returned from the war. The very thought of never seeing him again, just as he'd never see his mother again, made him wish the likely, upcoming fight, would take him away just as well.

But no. He wasn't that weak, he wasn't that stupid: he was here to defend his people. That was what his father had tasked him with, and the women and children from the tribe would be safe with him. He hoped. As long as that damn flare hadn't been glimpsed by anyone Fire Nation, then perhaps they would be. Yet with the damn light beam that burst from the iceberg, just before that airbender tumbled out of it, right into his sister's arms, he couldn't take for granted that the Fire Nation wouldn't have noticed anything. In all likelihood, they'd come… and they might try to wipe out the village altogether. And he had no choice but to fight, even if he failed to stand against them.

He had practiced the traditional warriors' face-paint countless times in the past, with his father's supervision. He had continued doing so even after his father was gone, wondering if he'd ever wear it for a battle… he no longer wondered today. Without even glancing at his reflection in the basin of the hut he was preparing at, Sokka stepped out into the open as Katara and Kanna helped lead the women and children to safety.

It happened after he climbed his watch tower: a loud, machinery sound in the distance. He felt chills rushing down the nape of his neck and scowled: this couldn't be good. They were here. That shape he could see, hidden within the mist, had to belong to a Fire Nation ship.

And he was right, naturally: a massive, metal ship slowly traversed the icy waters, and Sokka clutched his weapons nervously as he watched it looming closer…

And then it stopped, right upon reaching the shore, cracking the ice lightly, as Sokka could see from where he stood at his watch tower. He swallowed hard and raised his gaze at the monumental ship… and then the ramp at its front was lowered with a loud, mechanical hiss. Sokka's whole body trembled as he waited, knowing the enemy would rush them in no time…

Footsteps upon the metal. Loud ones, multiple ones. Sokka frowned as a group of soldiers appeared at the top of the ramp, and he scanned them carefully: it wasn't his first time seeing Fire Nation soldiers in the flesh, but it had been a long time since he had last crossed paths with any of them. And while his anxiety was ramping up because of it, he still could pay enough attention to notice that they were flanking two people who weren't sporting a full soldiers' uniform.

"What is…?" he whispered, narrowing his eyes at the sight of them…

An old man, and a young woman. Both were shorter than the uniformed soldiers, and they were studying their surroundings carefully, it seemed. They walked side by side until they reached the end of the ramp… and then the soldiers lingered back, close to the ship, while the two people who wore lighter armor approached the Tribe's enclosure.

"Ah, but this is quite the freezing environment, isn't it?" the old man said, smiling carelessly at his companion. She scoffed.

"What else could you have expected in the South Pole, Uncle, really?" she said.

The area was silent enough for Sokka to understand their words perfectly. He frowned as he gazed at them, wondering if he should speak up… and just then, the young woman's eyes took to studying his watch tower… to studying him.

He felt the air leaving his lungs, and wondered if perhaps that girl was an airbender like Aang, to make him effectively breathless that way. Or maybe he was just too nervous, too anxious, and terrified of the possible consequences that would come from this encounter with likely firebenders…?

"You, up there," the young woman called to him. Sokka froze. "We come in peace. Find your leader, so we may speak with whoever they are."

"Peace?" Sokka repeated quietly, before raising his voice. "You've just barged into enemy territory on a ship like that, and you expect me to believe you're here to make friends?"

"Well, what else could I be here for?" she replied, with a sarcastic grin. Sokka's stomach sank. "Do tell. Are you hiding anything in your funny huts that I might make use of?"

"Like hell we are! Go back to your rotten nation and leave us be!" Sokka rebuffed, raising his boomerang in an intimidating gesture that he knew would fail.

"We can't quite do that," she said, simply. "Find your leader, I said. We don't have much time."

"Find our leader?" Sokka repeated. "Well, as things stand right now? You're speaking to him! I'm the Tribe's leader!"

"You… no way," she snorted, smiling as she placed her hands on her hips. "The Southern Water Tribe has only one teenager manning their defenses, and he's the tribe leader, too?"

"Maybe we're in the wrong place," the old man suggested, stroking his beard.

"It's possible," his niece replied, still staring at Sokka pointedly. "But it's the closest settlement to the flare, isn't it? And we did see the Avatar skipping about in the ice earlier…"

"I can only hope I'm that flexible and nimble when I'm that age," the man laughed. His niece scoffed.

"You can't even finish climbing the tower's stairs without your knees aching, Uncle…"

"I can work out and regain my good shape, Princess Azula, no need to shame me for not exercising often these days…"

Sokka's eyes widened upon overhearing those words: Princess Azula, he'd said? And they were talking about… the Avatar? Did they believe Aang was the Avatar? If so… then he definitely needed protecting, rather than banishing. Curses, why did everything have to be so complicated…?

"Y-you… you're the Fire Nation Princess?" Sokka asked. She frowned but glared at him, no longer distracted by her uncle.

"Something like that," she said. "Feel more willing to help us track down your Avatar now? Or will this pointless back and forth continue until we freeze to death standing out here?"

Sokka snarled, uneasy. If Aang was the Avatar, he couldn't hand him over to the Fire Nation, not even if they allegedly had come in peace. How could he ever trust a claim like that? Fire Nation people were ambitious, and surely deeply treacherous… these two couldn't be any different. Even from up here, Sokka could tell they were intelligent… they were likely strategists, hoping to trick them somehow. And whatever game they thought they'd play at the expenses of his people, he refused to go along with it.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, so get out and find your Avatar someplace else. We don't have any Avatars here," Sokka declared. The Princess below scoffed.

"Really, now? So that skipping airbender we saw wasn't the Avatar? You're harboring other air nomads here, then? Fine, they'll be useful at tracking down the real thing anyway…"

"There's no one here! No airbender!" Sokka shouted. "There's only women and children inside these walls, and you won't find any Avatars or airbenders or…!"

A sudden, whooshing sound caused the Princess and the uncle to turn sharply to their right: something was rushing their way through the snow. The Princess took up a defensive firebending form immediately, but her uncle spread an arm before her as the shape came closer…

"A child?" the Princess said so softly Sokka nearly failed to hear her: he turned towards the noise as well only to feel his heart sinking to the bottom of his stomach.

Aang was back, surely hoping to help the tribe. Oh, curse that boy and his good heart, why would he choose to return just now?!

"Aang! Go back! Get out!" Sokka shouted, but the young airbender's penguin simply continued to rush towards the two Fire Nation Royals.

Both Azula and her uncle had to leap out of the way so the penguin could continue onwards: the airbender, however, leapt off the creature's back and stood between them and the tribe, holding his staff while gazing at them steadily.

"You're the airbender? The Avatar? A… child?" Azula said, blinking blankly.

"Well, you're just a teenager," Aang said, simply, though he wasn't sure his response warranted as loud a bout of laughter from the old man beside the Princess. "Uh… what's so funny?"

"Ah, it's such a relief! He is a child! See, Princess, no amount of exercise will ever be enough for me to jump around the way he did, ahaha…!"

"Stop giving excuses not to stay fit, Uncle!" Azula hissed. "We're in no position to afford laziness, or sloppiness, and you're indulging in both by neglecting your health and training!"

"Uh… what's going on?" Aang said, blinking blankly before glancing up at Sokka on his tower.

"I know just about as much as you do, buddy," Sokka said, grimacing. "Though… sorry for kicking you out. And thanks for coming back."

"My banishment is lifted?" Aang asked, smiling weakly. Sokka shrugged and hung his head.

"Guess so. Though this isn't over," Sokka said, frowning as he picked up his spear. "You two… last chance. Go back to your ship, and the airbender there won't hurt you."

"Ah, nonsense. Airbenders won't hurt anyone unless it's self-defense," the old man declared proudly. The Princess breathed out and glanced at the young boy before her.

"We're not here to hand you over to Fire Nation authorities, Avatar," she said. Both Aang and Sokka frowned. "If you truly are who we believe you are… then we'll be the very best allies you'll find if you have any hopes to bring back balance to the world."

"You… what?" Aang said.

Sokka frowned heavily and jumped, slipping down his tower and landing right next to Aang – by the tribe's front gates, Katara lurked, gazing out at the debate between the two Fire Nation visitors, her brother and her friend: where both Sokka and Aang were reluctant, dubious, the old man couldn't seem to stop smiling in a disarming manner… while his niece offered them a steeled glare, sharper than a blade, more unyielding than the sturdiest of metals:

"We need you to help us defeat the Fire Lady."

* * *

Where the villagers no doubt had expected a confrontation, they had found, instead, a diplomatic visit, of sorts. The soldiers had stayed aboard the ship, leaving the two royals to deal with the discussions and to convince the skeptical teenagers and the young Avatar to join their cause: it wouldn't be easy, but Azula was certain it could be done.

"I'm pretty confused as it is, but I guess I'll hear you out," the Avatar decided, smiling as they sat at the central fireplace of the village: Azula and Iroh sat with them, while the rest of the villagers – just as the warrior had claimed, women and children – watched from a safe distance. Acceptable, understandable caution, all things considered.

"What's this about a Fire Lady?" the warrior asked, frowning as he stared at Azula. "Last I knew, it was a Fire Lord who was throwing the world out of balance. When did that change?"

"To be precise? Five years ago," Azula said, simply. The warrior appeared perplexed, but curious enough to continue listening anyway.

"Our dad left about four years ago…" the teenage girl said, glancing at him with unease. "I guess we haven't heard from anything in the outside world since then… and even before that, news didn't spread much either."

"Naturally. You're in the South Pole, and with the war's politics being what they are…" Iroh said, shaking his head "Everyone has taken to isolating, instead of thinking clearly: a coalition between Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe and Fire Nation rebel forces would more than suffice to topple my sister-in-law's regime."

"Your sister-in-law?" the warrior repeated.

"My mother," Azula said, curtly. The words seemed to send a powerful ripple of confused understanding through all her three new acquaintances.

"Y-your mom…?" said the Avatar.

"She is the Fire Lady. Has been, since Fire Lord Azulon died mysteriously on the night he demanded for my brother to be killed to punish my father's transgressions," Azula explained, gritting her teeth. Sharing such memories with strangers wasn't easy, despite she had grown used to discussing them in recent times. "My father was crowned on the next day. He was dead too, within the week."

"Wait… your mom killed them?" asked the warrior, aghast. "Y-you're saying…"

"I'm saying she's leading the Fire Nation as we speak. Has been, for the past six years," Azula said, staring at the young man intently. "She has avoided every political reprieve sent her way, hell knows how, and ensured to stay on the throne under the guise of being my brother's regent: he will come of age within a few months, and once he does, he'll be Fire Lord in her stead. One step out of line, however, and…"

"You keep saying that, Azula, but I doubt Ursa would kill Zuko…" said Iroh. Azula scoffed.

"I'm her daughter. She banished me. I know she prefers him over me, but that hardly makes her an innocent person, let alone is she incapable of protecting her own interests to the point of sacrificing her own family," Azula snarled.

"Why did your mother banish you?" the warrior's sister asked. "That's awful!"

"She found a petty excuse, started an argument I didn't back down from. Demanded that I should be taught respect and tasked me with tracking down the Avatar and handing him over to her to prove my loyalty and worth to my nation," Azula explained, rolling her eyes. "I have no intentions of doing such a thing, if you expected otherwise: I don't trust that woman. Even calling her my mother revolts me. That she killed my father is…"

"Now, now, Azula…" Iroh said, patting his niece's back. She flinched away from his touch, but attempted to focus again.

"She sent my uncle Iroh with me, because he's yet another threat to her ill-gotten throne," Azula declared. "The two of us were investigating, looking into both my father and grandfather's deaths, if independently… and she knew it was only a matter of time before we unearthed solid evidence of foul play. Granted, the situation is as fishy as can be, as things stand, but…"

"But she has managed to play everything off as a coincidence so far," said Iroh, grimacing. "I wasn't in the Fire Nation when she took the throne… by the time I arrived, she was much too comfortable on her seat. I couldn't do anything but offer my assistance to Azula, and hope to guide Zuko away from her, but…"

"But you'd never succeed at that," Azula said, bitterly. "My brother is the only one who's better off with this arrangement. I don't think I ever saw him quite so happy."

"I guess he's the favorite kid?" Sokka asked. Azula scoffed.

"Hers? Yes. Iroh's, too. He's stuck with me because he has no choice."

"Oi! I do appreciate you, Azula! We've been scheming together for three years now!"

"That's no evidence to contradict my claim," Azula said, dismissively. Iroh's outrage amused the Avatar and his female friend slightly, though the warrior only continued to watch the Princess pointedly. "My father did favor me, and he wasn't kind to my brother. Neither was my grandfather, who outright asked for him to be executed, so…"

"What a messed-up family," sighed the warrior, shaking his head. "So you two don't like each other but are stuck together, your mom is in the Fire Nation grooming your brother into being her perfect brainwashed tool, and your dad is dead, and your grandpa is dead too because he wanted to have your brother killed? Is that how it is?"

"Uh… yeah. More or less," Azula said. He sighed.

"And what exactly do you expect to accomplish next?" he asked. "You want Aang to help you take down your mom? You're on some quest for revenge or something?"

"You could say that, yes," Azula said. He scoffed.

"And how do I know you're not simply going to hand him over to Fire Nation authorities, so your banishment gets revoked and you're free to live your life as you wish?"

"You'd know it if you'd known me for longer than you have," Azula replied, with a dry grin. "I'm no fool: I don't long for my mother's approval, I want her held accountable for her crimes. Even if I went home, and she pretended to love me and accept me because I brought her the Avatar, it would amount to nothing more than a pretense. Within another two years she'd find another excuse to get rid of me, and where would I find anyone else to help me depose her then?"

"But the problem is your mom, right? Not your brother," said the Avatar, tapping his chin. "So if he becomes Fire Lord… wouldn't we have to fight him instead?"

"You don't truly believe that my mother, after all her scheming, would set down her crown and throne and leave my brother to rule without her 'guidance', do you?" Azula asked, skeptical. "She'll control him, without his awareness. A puppeteer, you could say, ensuring the Fire Lord doesn't go astray, meaning, she intends to retain his loyal to her at all costs. My brother isn't the problem, it's her."

"And how do you plan on defeating her, without causing him any trouble?" the warrior asked. "I feel like if we help you guys, and you're not tricking us at all, we'll end up going from one problem to the next: take out the Fire Lady, and her son will follow on her footsteps and set the whole world on fire. Right?"

"That's exactly why our intent isn't as violent as you may think," Iroh said, with a weak grin. "I assumed the Avatar would be old… perhaps too old to be of use. But he's young! And, I'm sure, inexperienced with all four elements. Right?"

"Uh… I'm afraid so," the Avatar admitted, with a lukewarm grin.

"Then the course is clear! He must learn all the elements before becoming the protector of harmony in our world," Iroh grinned. "Though… I don't know if you can learn waterbending here. Last I knew, Fire Lord Azulon had…"

"Attacked our tribes, countless times?" asked the warrior, scowling.

"I'm the last waterbender left in the South Pole," the sister announced, sadly. Azula grimaced.

"Then… ugh. It means he'd have to learn up north instead," said Azula, glancing at Iroh… to find him grinning madly, of course. "Well, then. Out with it. You have an idea, don't you?"

"A lot of them, actually," he giggled. "Pakku is in the North! And Bumi in the Earth Kingdom. I can be the firebending teacher, and…"

"Bumi?!" exclaimed the Avatar, his eyes wide. "Y-you know Bumi? Wait, how do you know Bumi? Is Bumi still alive?! I thought I'd been frozen for a hundred years!"

"Uh… huh. That explains your youth, at least," said Iroh. Azula grimaced, resolving to explain more about that particular matter later. "And… yes. I believe King Bumi is well past his hundred years. If you know him… then all the better! I can see to it that you train and develop your skills as the Avatar little by little, young man. What do you say?"

"Well, I say we have to think about it," the warrior declared, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not to look a gift ostrich horse in the beak, but…"

"Can I come too?!"

"K-Katara?!"

Despite the Avatar appeared nervous, it seemed he would agree to their proposal, and the waterbender was absolutely stoked about joining them, too: the warrior was the only one with obvious doubts, and while Azula held his accusatory, distrustful gaze with relentless defiance, Iroh only laughed and clapped cheerfully.

"It seems we have quite the journey ahead of us!" he declared, deliberately ignoring the warrior's obvious displeasure, focusing only on the far more cheerful and agreeable response of the waterbender.

Azula guessed the warrior boy might be trouble, and yet she couldn't blame him for it in the least: the readiness of the other two to trust them was surprisingly agreeable and yet proof of how innocent and gullible they were. They were rather fortunate that they had no ill-intentions indeed, Azula reasoned, after she returned to her ship that day: the soldiers welcomed her, ever ready to obey her every command. The highly questionable Fire Lady, in whose veins did not flow any royal blood, had failed to charm every soldier to her favor. Where she had hoped, no doubt, to get rid of her most dangerous opponents by tossing them in the sea with the least reliable soldiers in her army, her decision had been double-edged: Azula and Iroh had joined forces, and within less than a few months, the entire ship answered to them, and only to them. It was one starting point of rebellion, one Azula hoped they'd be able to expand further… but only after they gained enough political relevance and power to challenge her mother's rule, and her brother's, if it came to that. The Avatar was the key to achieving that goal.

Noise by the ramp surprised Azula as she paced on deck. She stepped close to the ship's railing to find the warrior boy, naturally, had approached the ship. What did he want? Shouldn't he be packing, or resting, before setting out on their long voyage?

Despite her better sense told her otherwise, Azula made her way down to the ramp indeed, finding the soldiers had been reluctant to let him through. The warrior pouted rather childishly, and she sighed as she stepped between the soldiers and himself, startling him when he failed to notice her presence.

"Do you need something?" she asked, directly. His childish expression faded quickly.

"Just… wanted to talk," he said, raising his hands defensively. "I won't do anything bad, I promise."

"Hmm. You promise, then," Azula said, releasing a breath before ordering the soldiers to let him through.

The two made their way to the deck, a small walk Azula found no wonders in, considering she'd traversed the full extent of her ship countless times in the past. To the warrior beside her, however, it was likely the first Fire Nation battleship he had ever entered. His amazement was apparent… and yet he voiced no compliments, containing his amazement as best he could. And while he studied his future means of transportation, Azula studied him: he was perhaps slightly older than her, and yet burdened with a much more dangerous duty than he himself had likely ever realized. Where Azula would have been forced to stay in her brother's mediocre shadow, if her mother had her way, this young warrior was expected to protect his people at all costs…

"So… what do you need to talk about?" she asked him, as they came to a halt on the deck. He grimaced.

"Well… I'm just worried," he said, earnestly. "Look, I'm sorry for what your mom's done, and I really don't know how I'd react if anything like that had ever happened to me, but… are you against the Fire Nation? Or just against her?"

"You're wondering if I'll want to continue the war after she's defeated and replaced?" Azula asked. He swallowed hard and nodded.

"I just… don't know where your loyalties really lie. And I think I should, before we join you in this trip. I don't know if I can trust you."

"I never did ask you to trust me, did I?" she said, plainly, but he scoffed.

"Just by asking us to join forces with you, or rather, asking Aang… you're silently asking me to entrust the best hope this world has to you. Maybe you didn't say the words directly, but you're asking for trust anyway. And…"

"And you'd be a fool to give it to me blindly when we've only just met," Azula concluded. The warrior released a breath… perhaps relieved she understood his plight. "My father trusted my mother, no doubt: she took advantage of that trust to kill him. Do you really think I'd be so stupid as to ask for trust… or to give it?"

He froze in place, their eyes holding each other's gaze firmly. Both of them had been through their own set of struggles, she realized that… but if he had come here looking for a heartfelt speech about how good a person she was, he was out of luck. Azula had no intentions to…

He smiled.

She blinked twice, and then he sighed, hanging his head while setting his hands on his hips.

"You know what? I can live with that," he said. Azula raised her eyebrows, puzzled.

"With… not being trusted?" she asked. He nodded.

"The Avatar's dead-sure his bison thing can fly, you know?" he said. "If you or your creepy uncle do anything on this trip that we can't accept… well, I'll be grabbing my two dorks, climbing on that saddle and getting as far from you guys as possible. And as you're not going to ask for trust, or give it, that should be fine by you, right?"

"It is, actually," Azula said, simply. "While I'd rather have the Avatar on my side… it's not a necessity either, despite Iroh is certain of the opposite. We're loyal to our own causes and purposes, and there's no reason why it should be any different. This is an alliance of convenience, nothing more."

"Sounds right to me," he said, extending his hand towards her. "By the way… my name is Sokka. I heard your uncle calling your name before, so… figured it was a good idea to tell you mine."

"Sokka, then?" she repeated, before raising a hand to clasp his. "Very well. Let's… not trust each other."

"Perfect," Sokka grinned.

It was an odd arrangement… yet one that brought a smile to Azula's face just as well. She had the strange feeling she could grow used to the warrior's presence, despite everything…

* * *

Their long journey began on the next day, after the three new passengers climbed aboard the ship, once they said their farewells to their fellow tribespeople. The journey to the North Pole would be long, and Azula wondered if those three would be able to endure the trappings of the steel ship without complaint… strangely, the Avatar was the most restless of the group, often taking off on gliding trips unless they neared any Fire Nation watchtowers. The waterbender had been quite eager to manipulate the seawater they were coursing through… but just as expected, she wasn't skilled enough to bend anything impressive yet.

The warrior was the least restless one, Azula had thought… until he happened upon her training with Iroh on the ship's deck one day. The old man often told her to take her drills calmly, to focus on her basics… but she didn't have time to take it easy. Her blue fire needed to be strengthened further, that was all there was to it…

"The source of firebending… isn't aggression," Iroh had said to her, on one afternoon. Azula scoffed and glared.

"Really? And that's why the way to conjure fire is by hugging people, right?"

"You misunderstand," Iroh sighed. "But hopefully you'll see in time. Firebending is an art… it isn't merely a means to an end. You can channel your rage through it… but that won't make you any stronger than you would be if you fought calmly, in direct contact with your inner fire."

"That's too bad," Azula hissed back. Iroh shook his head and made to leave… only stopping on his tracks upon finding someone stood by the threshold of the tower, watching them.

Sokka flinched and stepped out of the way, offering Iroh a guilty grin before glancing at Azula. The exiled Princess scowled at first, but surely he didn't bear any nefarious intent in mind, going by that goofy smile across his face.

"That… that was pretty impressive," he said, biting his lip. "Your fire… it's pretty cool, you know? That it's blue… it's not like everyone else's, right?"

"Indeed," Azula replied, bluntly.

"It's a sign of strength, I figure? Or something?" Sokka continued. "Well, whatever it may be a sign of… you're pretty good with your fire. Which, well, isn't something I ever thought I'd say to a firebender, but times change…"

"I guess they do," Azula said, raising her eyebrows. "I suppose you're quite bored if you're watching my attempts to train…"

"Well… bored and a little curious," Sokka admitted, grinning awkwardly. "I thought I was ready to fight you before, but I guess I wasn't. I just… wanted to ask if it's okay if I train with you once in a while? You know, polish my skills…"

"Polish your skills?" Azula repeated, a hint of amusement crossing her face. "Why… I suppose that'd be fine, yes."

Sokka grinned brightly and rushed inside to collect his weapons when she told him to. By the time he returned, he was stretching and smirking proudly.

"Well, I sure hope you're ready, Princess. You haven't seen what I can do so far, so I think I have an advantage," he said, raising his club in her direction. Azula smirked too.

"Oh, the horror," she said, sarcastically. He flinched as she took up a stance. "Give me your best shot. You'll regret it if you don't."

And he did regret it, of course: as much as he tried, he couldn't seem to avoid the power of those blue flames. He dodged clumsily, attacked even more clumsily, but to Azula's amusement, he never asked for respite. He didn't beg for her to stop attacking. He was stubborn… and that was a good thing.

She defeated him on every round that day. He seemed discouraged for it, lying against the ship's railing while breathing heavily, his body overheated despite it was still rather cold. She approached him with a slightly more sympathetic smile than intended, taking her seat beside him.

"You're not very experienced in combat. That's all there is to it," she said. "Train with me some more, and you'll be able to withstand the strongest of firebenders without breaking a sweat."

"You sure?" Sokka asked, grimacing. "I thought I'd made a fool of myself…"

"Oh, you did, but it was a lot of fun. I can stand for a few more reasons to be amused," she said, grinning at him. He snorted and laughed, shaking his head.

"Great. I'm a laughingstock for the Princess. Just what I hoped for," he said, dropping his head against the railing.

"And what else were you hoping for?" she asked.

"Uh… respect of equals?" he said. She snorted and laughed outright, surprising him. "What? You don't have to laugh that hard…"

"You and I aren't equals, Sokka. On any level," she said, smiling at him. "Not yet, anyway. More training is required, without a doubt, if that's what you're looking for."

"Then I'll oblige," he said, smirking too. "You think I'll back away from a challenge just because you're pretty… uh, pretty intimidating?"

"Ah. I'm pretty?" she said. He grimaced and blushed.

"That's not what I said! I was just… looking for the right word!"

"Sure you were: pretty. That was it," Azula smiled. He groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"Is this a thing girls do?" he asked, flustered. "Turning a guy's words against him mercilessly just because they feel like it?"

"I have no idea. Bu it's certainly something I do," she said, grinning at him.

She hadn't had much of a chance to try her luck with boys so far – she had been banished three years ago, and too busy trying to harvest evidence to prove her mother was up to no good on the years before that to look for any suitable matches. But if she wasn't misreading the situation… this warrior might actually harbor more than a wish for mutual respect for her. She wouldn't mind it much, if he did. He was easy on the eyes himself, there was no denying that…

"Guess I'll have to get used to it, then?" he said, smiling back at her. "Or… maybe I could, uh, try my luck at it too? You know, if you ever say I'm handsome…!"

"I'd never say that," Azula declared, proudly. Sokka scoffed.

"You could say 'hand', and right after, 'some', and then I could misinterpret it just as you did right now…" he said. Azula laughed.

"How so?" she smiled. "'Get your hand some ice, because I burned it so badly'?"

"See? There you go. You think I'm handsome too," Sokka declared. Azula laughed again, dropping her head against the railing as he smiled at her. "Alright, jokes aside… you have a nice smile, you know?"

"I'm not taking any of it as a joke, mind you," Azula declared. "But, truthfully I… haven't had much of a reason to smile for the past six years."

"Yeah… I can tell," Sokka whispered. "And I don't blame you. Though… at first I figured you got along better with Iroh than you do. You two seemed to be on the same page when you were at the tribe's doorstep… guess I just jumped to conclusions, huh?"

"I did say Zuko was his favorite, didn't I?" Azula said, her smile waning. "Truthfully… my mother assumed we would never be able to work together. That's why she exiled us this way, and she would have been correct in her assessment… if only Iroh and I weren't slightly sharper than she hoped we'd be. Even if we can't stand each other's guts, the bigger picture is the priority. Whatever happens after we've dealt with my mother, Iroh and I will work together until she's defeated. That's simply how it is."

"Your family really feels… awful," said Sokka, grimacing. "Not just that your mother's the worst person in the planet right now, apparently… but you can't even rely on your uncle even if you've been traveling with him for three years? I… can't imagine how difficult it must be to live this way."

"Your people have a rather different culture from mine," Azula said, simply. "Family… matters more to you. Far more than it matters to us, apparently."

"You're trying to do right by yours, though. In your own way," Sokka said.

"Am I?" Azula said. "You weren't wrong to say this is a quest of revenge. I don't even know how far it will take me, and even if it's my father I hope to avenge, I'll…"

"You'll fight and maybe even kill your own family?" Sokka asked, frowning. Azula shrugged.

"Is there any other choice?" she asked. "My mother isn't a firebender, but she will have all the strongest soldiers of our nation defending her. She will gain all the advantages she can obtain, anything to stay on the throne, or close enough to it, once my brother takes office. How can I pretend I'll defeat her through anything less than that?"

"She's still your mother," said Sokka, eyeing her with uncertainty.

"He was her husband. I am her daughter. Didn't stop her," Azula said, closing her eyes.

Sokka swallowed hard but conceded once he fell silent. Perhaps he knew there were some things in life you couldn't fix just by talking them out… perhaps he knew there were some people no one could fix with just a heartfelt conversation. If so, she certainly had been rather lucky to have it with him, rather than anyone who might have been more forceful about making her abide by their ideals…

"Will you… train with me again tomorrow?" Azula asked, softly. He blinked blankly but glanced at her with a weak grin.

"If you'll have me, sure thing," he said, grinning. Azula smiled and nodded.

They continued to train hard across the next weeks of their long journey: the weather changed as they progressed north, prompting Sokka to occasionally train with sleeveless shirts and, on one fatefully hot day, outright shirtless. It was outrageous… and yet she had been so distracted he had nearly beaten her for the first time on the day he had first done so. Utterly embarrassing.

She spent more time with him than she ever meant to, than she did with most everyone else. Iroh had taken to spending more time with the Avatar, and he offered the waterbender frequent advice, but the warrior… he seemed to be drawn to her. To find more common ground with her, to feel safer with her than with the soldiers, or her uncle… and it was strange. It felt right, even if her mind said it was wrong. For she was growing used to him… and she didn't think that was wise. She was supposed to stand strong, to need nothing, no one… and she certainly didn't need this boy. But… did he need her? Sometimes, when he gazed at her with those clear blue eyes after their sparring was done, she wondered if he did. And she also wondered what that would mean for her, if that was the case.

* * *

The Northern Water Tribe was magnificent, yet a dreadful mirror that reflected how miserable and downtrodden his own tribe was, back home. Sokka had been amazed by it until that reality had dawned on him… he gazed at Azula, finding she seemed utterly unconcerned with the regal glory of the location, focusing instead on preserving her body heat as best she could. She was used to this opulence… if anything, she probably felt at home with it. It suited her, Sokka thought, to a fault… what if she dressed up in a Water Tribe parka? Then it could match her blue fire, why not…?

He shook his head quickly as they were ferried into the depths of the tribe on a canoe that Iroh had somehow arranged for them. He'd been having strange thoughts about Azula for a while now, thoughts he was sure he shouldn't have. She was so driven, so determined, so set on her goals… becoming her sparring partner had been a good idea, both for her and himself, as even though he had never defeated her, his combat abilities had increased greatly with her as his opponent, or at least, he thought they had. He had more stamina and he had learned many things regarding how to read a bender's next movements. Seeing as she was a firebender, he expected that what he'd learned would come in handy in the future.

But that was it, wasn't it? He'd said it himself: he didn't trust her, and neither did she trust him. As far as he could tell, she didn't trust anyone, not even her uncle… and considering what she'd been through, he didn't blame her for that. Yet the more he sympathized with her, the less he distrusted her… was that healthy? Was it a good idea to like her better than he should have…? With every glance he stole in her direction, he knew in his mind it wasn't, but in his heart…

They were welcomed with pomp and splendor, and Sokka felt more and more out of place with each passing moment. He wasn't sure why he felt so inadequate, or why he felt the need to stand beside Azula throughout the whole matter… perhaps he feared this was some sort of trap, too. That the northerners would consider them traitors, and would capture Aang, Azula and Iroh and send them giftwrapped to the Fire Lady… even the welcoming smiles of the local Princess, who seemed to get along fairly well with Katara as they sat together during the welcoming feast, didn't reassure him at all. And the balding, bitter man Iroh had proposed as Aang's new waterbending teacher didn't help matters much either.

Maybe he was simply used to expecting the worst from people, at this point: on the next day, Master Pakku accepted Aang as his student gladly, and rejected Katara, outright, for he refused to teach women how to fight. Sokka had spent most that day waiting for Azula to finish her meetings with Iroh and the tribe's leaders when Katara stormed in, revealing her outrageous struggle to him.

"He's a jerk! Why wouldn't I be allowed to fight just because I'm a girl?" Katara exclaimed. "He wants me to learn healing? I've never healed anyone with bending! I know other techniques to do that, but not with bending! What if I can't heal someone, and I waste all my valuable time here learning something I can't even do?!"

"Uh… I don't know?" said Sokka, grimacing: the door swung open then, and Katara glanced at Azula and Aang, who had arrived at the same time.

"You okay, Katara…?" Aang asked. Katara huffed.

"Of course I'm not! That Master Pakku is the worst!" she exclaimed.

"Why's that?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. "I suppose I shouldn't take for granted that any of my uncle's associates are worthwhile, but… I had hoped he wasn't completely worthless."

"Well, he thinks I can't learn waterbending combat because I'm a girl," said Katara. Sokka grimaced, glancing at Azula with uncertainty, wondering what her reaction would be…

"Wow. And here I assumed these people were civilized," Azula said, with a sarcastic grin. Katara grinned brightly at the obvious, expected support from a successful, powerful female warrior. "So much opulence and fancy halls, and yet they're the most backwards nation I've seen, if this is how it is."

"Well, it's not like we were much better off down south…" Katara admitted, shooting a glare at Sokka. "Someone had a thing for telling me I should stay back and let him handle all the fighting, or, how was it? 'Leave it to a girl to mess everything up'?"

"Hey! Not like I was wrong, was I? You kept soaking my clothes!" Sokka pouted.

"Not the point! Me being a girl has nothing to do with whatever I can do with my bending!" Katara declared. "And that stupid, uptight, stick-in-the-mud Master Pakku…"

"You… seriously said that kind of stuff?"

Sokka froze in place: it felt like his heart had stopped upon hearing Azula speak with such stark disapproval to him. He grimaced under her skeptical stare: just what he needed, the girl he liked would think he was a…

The girl he liked? That thought alone jumpstarted his heart again immediately.

"It's not… it's not really like that?" Sokka smiled awkwardly. "I mean, big brothers always mess with their sisters, right?"

"Right," said Azula, dryly. Sokka grimaced: she didn't believe him. Oh, hell, she didn't believe him. She turned towards Katara again, though, with a proud grin. "Well, then… I guess you need a solution for your dilemma. And I think I need a new sparring partner too, so…"

"W-what?! Hey! That's not…!"

"What do you say we give that Master Pakku a rather alarming surprise?" Azula suggested, smirking at Katara. Sokka could swear he had never seen his sister's eyes glisten so brightly.

"I have no idea what you have in mind… but the answer is yes. Absolutely, yes," Katara said, beaming.

* * *

Master Pakku would obviously expect that the stubborn waterbender would rebel against him. Thus, Azula recruited even Aang for her plan: the Avatar was perplexed over his role, but apparently, walking at night across several ice streets, on his way to a supposed hiding place, was as good a plan as any.

Sokka, of course, was barred from joining the plan. Azula wasn't sure why she was so outraged, she wasn't completely surprised that women would be dismissed as irrelevant in combat by certain cultures… but perhaps it had something to do with the suspicion that he wouldn't have held back against her, not even on their first encounter. He had sparred with her constantly, failing to defeat her… and not once had he voiced any dismissing words or thoughts like those Katara had credited to him. Maybe it was true, and he was merely an annoying older brother… or maybe it wasn't true, and he simply didn't see Azula as a woman.

And why, oh, why did that thought bother her so damn much?

She was being an idiot, she knew, but she had no time to think about that. Instead, she encouraged Katara to step closer to the nearest stream, and the waterbender did as much, most willingly.

"Now, then… follow my lead. Only, bring water with you, and perform the movements with me," Azula decided. Katara nodded.

"Then… I'll learn fire-waterbending?" she smiled. Azula shrugged.

"Seems like it. Now, then, pay attention to the sequence of my movements… every last one of them."

Azula shifted from kata to kata, conjuring firebending with her renowned expertise. Katara swallowed hard as the short sequence was finished, and she sought to repeat it, carrying water with her: the result wasn't particularly impressive, and yet the water had obeyed her more than when they had been on the ship. Katara grinned brightly at her, and Azula smirked.

"Let's keep going, then," she said. "I have the feeling you'll learn a lot of fire-waterbending for sure."

"Thank you for this, really," Katara laughed. "I know it's not the traditional way, but… who cares, right? If the traditional waterbending styles are meant to be for men, I'd rather find my own way to bend instead."

"Sounds about right," Azula smirked. "Alright, next sequence…"

"Oh, hey, guys!" Aang's voice came from the ceiling of a building: he airbent himself down to the river and smiled peacefully, despite he was, quite apparently, nervous. "Want some help? I can give you a few tips, Katara…"

"No need for that, Avatar," Azula said, raising her voice unnecessarily. "Outdated bending will never defeat the Fire Nation. I'll teach her a far better combat method, so much better you'll be begging her to teach you, rather than the other way around, once I'm through with her…"

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Azula turned, staring at the elderly waterbending master with nonchalance as he stood at a bridge, overlooking their alleged hideout. Katara tensed up, and Aang fell off his air scooter, grimacing at Pakku's obvious loss of temper.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Azula said, simply. "I'll teach her combat waterbending. Why? You'd rather to do it yourself?"

"What a childish claim… your culture is different from ours, Princess Azula!" Pakku declared. "Don't expect to impose your values here!"

"Oh, but I want her to teach me. I asked you, you said no, she offered, and I'm taking her up on that offer," Katara said, simply. "And hey! You have no power to stop her!"

"Unless you have anything else to add, feel free to walk away," Azula said, waving a hand dismissively at Pakku. "Katara has to learn to defend herself as best she can, after all. We may eventually be caught in a path of violence, and she refuses to be dead weight for the rest of us. Who knows? She might even end up saving the Avatar's life…"

"Don't ridicule me! That sort of notion could never…!"

"You know? Maybe this is why they're still winning."

Sokka's voice startled everyone, breaking across the near-scripted encounter with complete naturality: he had sneaked up on Pakku, and he stood beside him, glancing between his friends and the waterbending master, who turned towards him in confused outrage.

"You saw her, didn't you? She's a powerhouse," Sokka said, smiling at Azula. "A girl that strong… she might be the greatest firebender in the world, don't you think? She can even bend blue fire! When had you ever heard of something like that? And you know what? Maybe some of the girls you've refused to teach could have been as strong as Princess Azula was. Then… maybe the Fire Nation could've been stopped before the war escalated this much. Meanwhile, the Fire Nation is perfectly willing to train their girls, and Azula is an example: if she weren't a rebel, she'd be fighting against us, and I can tell you, that would suck big time. She's the strongest girl I've ever met… and I have no doubts she'd kick my ass, and yours, and everyone else's, if given a chance. Maybe… maybe you should give my sister a chance, too. If a girl's power can be the driving force to end this war… why not support her? Why not teach her? Why not break old traditions that don't make any sense?"

Pakku scowled, but confusion crossed his eyes. For a long moment, Sokka stood there, holding the man's gaze… only for Pakku to storm off without another word. Sokka grimaced and sighed, glancing at Katara apologetically after Pakku's footsteps were undoubtedly gone.

"Sorry, I… hoped I could help," he said. "Guess I messed it up."

"You didn't…!" Katara gasped, smiling brightly at Sokka. "You… you really think all that, Sokka? Or are you just trying to impress Azula, now…?"

"W-wha…?! Hey! Of course I think so! All I just said is true!" Sokka exclaimed, blushing as both Katara and Aang laughed.

"Well… even if he won't teach you, you can learn with me and Azula!" Aang said, beaming at Katara as the two of them started on their way back to their given rooms, across the bridge Sokka stood at. "Teaching waterbending with firebending… it sounds fun, right?"

"It was! I don't know how effective it'll be, but it was!" Katara grinned, and she continued to chat animatedly with Aang as they walked back to their quarters.

Sokka stayed behind, waiting for Azula to reach the bridge too. She released a breath as she stepped towards him, stopping at arm's length.

"All you said was true, for sure," she said. "Whether you truly believe it or not, it is. That the driving force in the war right now is a female non-bender ought to speak lengths about how no one should be underestimating women. It's the entire reason my mother got away with everything she did until now…"

"True… and I won't lie to you, okay? I think you've had people lying a lot to you throughout your life. I don't want to be like them," Sokka whispered. "I did think, back before I knew you, that women had some very specific duties… and men had other duties, too. That's how I was raised, and I did say a lot of stupid things to Katara because of it. I mean… it doesn't mean I'm a monster, I hope, but… I know now it was wrong. After all I've trained with you, and all the time I've spent with you, now I'm… I'm able to look back and know I messed up. I shouldn't have said the things I did to Katara, not even if I was just trying to be an annoying older brother…"

"If you truly know that… then I guess it means you should come up with more creative ways to annoy your sister, from this day forward," Azula said. And Sokka grinned brightly once he saw she was smiling, too. "I'll choose to believe you truly have changed… because if you somehow don't think I'm a girl, and that's why you trained with me for all this time…"

"W-what?! Heck, that's what you thought?! Hell, no, absolutely not, Azula…!"

"I mean, I'd hope you wouldn't think that, you did say I was pretty, so…"

They both talked over each other, and only stopped when the other did. A light laugh left both their lips, and Sokka smiled fondly at her.

"I do think you are pretty, you know?" he said. "Though… I guess that's not too relevant to the conversation, is it?"

"Isn't it?" Azula whispered, softly. "You think I'm pretty… and the most powerful firebender in the world, too?"

"Uh… yeah. I think that sums it up," Sokka grinned. Azula laughed again, shaking her head.

"I guess I should thank you, if anything. For what you did just now, and… for everything else," Azula whispered, gazing at him intensely. Sokka's chest tightened: everything else? What did that even mean…?

The question vanished in his head once she stepped closer, leaning forward… and he followed suit, catching her lips with his own clumsily. He didn't really know how to do this, he'd never done it before… and neither had she. But they stood where they did, under the dark skies in the North Pole, sharing a strange, sincere, peaceful moment where no wars weighed on their minds, no conflicts, no pursuits of revenge…

He held her in place, feeling closer to Azula than ever before, and not only because they were kissing: despite their starting point had suggested otherwise, by now he found himself trusting her, wholeheartedly, even if he shouldn't have. For even if the Fire Nation would never reassure him, he thought he understood her loyalty better after today. It wasn't a matter of nations, not for her… it was a matter of standing by those you treasured, come what may. And while she shouldn't have grown fond of them, for a myriad of reasons, she wouldn't have helped Katara so readily if she hadn't felt a powerful kinship with all three of them by now. Perhaps he could see through Azula better now, if just a little…

* * *

Surprisingly, Pakku relented on the next day: he took to training Katara personally, freeing Azula to spar with her and Aang on evenings, so the waterbenders could test their skills against firebenders like herself. Mornings, however – if they could be called that, it was always damn dark in this pole, as far as Azula could tell – were much more exciting: she'd spend the whole time with Sokka, training with him just as well… and occasionally doing something other than training, too. They were still young, and they had much left to learn… and as it was, they were quite busy learning how to kiss properly. And with every joyful grin their secretive exchanges elicited in Sokka, Azula's heart soared too. Suddenly it was all too easy to forget she wasn't merely taking a trip with friends, seeing the world, and that she had a rather important task in mind…

She guessed everyone had figured out what was brewing between her and Sokka by the time Iroh decided they'd do best to leave already, once all alliances were settled, and the two waterbenders had learned plenty by Pakku's standards. They didn't walk hand-in-hand, nor did they make any sorts of affectionate gestures in public… but Sokka never stopped smiling goofily at her. It wasn't unpleasant, of course. She could withstand it, no doubt. Though she did fear that, if this kept up, her uncle would congratulate her, and even offer unwanted love advice… ugh, just the idea was embarrassing and sickening.

Yet their new journey was different, now that they were together, in some strange way. She shared her meals with Sokka, visited him in his cabin, and he visited her in hers. They spent occasional afternoons napping together, or talking, or simply cuddling… and all of it had been smooth, perfectly agreeable, filling her chest with a joyful warmth she was sure she had never experienced before. She shouldn't lower her guard so much, she knew that… but Sokka felt safe. He was a good person… he couldn't lie, it wasn't in his system. And he valued people… he treasured them. That was why he could hold her so closely, why his strong heartbeats could soothe her, why his voice sent blissful shivers down her spine…

It was slowly becoming the best period of her life. She didn't need anything but his sweet good night kisses, and his stubbornness as they trained together, and his clumsy flirty remarks that charmed her even if her common sense told her she shouldn't find them all that amusing. She wanted more of this, more of him…

Until they reached Omashu, and reality slammed into her with the force of an avalanche once they glimpsed the red-and-black banner of the Fire Nation dangling at those gates.

"She made another move. She's… she's going to take more and more Earth Kingdom bastions until everything is under her control!" Azula had exclaimed, fists tightened as she glared at the city.

"Calm yourself, Azula," Iroh said, breathing deeply. "We… we may yet find a way in."

"Bumi…" Aang grimaced, lowering his gaze. "We're too late to help…"

"I doubt it. I'm sure we can get in somehow," Sokka said, stubbornly. "The Fire Nation can't be that infallible. And hey! They probably didn't kill your friend Bumi either, Aang, because if he's king, like Iroh says, he's too valuable to kill anyway! So that means we have a chance to save him, alright?"

"You're right… you're right!" Aang said, frowning with determination. "I'll find Bumi. I mean, I hope I can recognize him even now, but I'll do it! And I know just the way to get inside the city!"

The way inside, as it happens, included a trip through sewers that Iroh, naturally, refrained from taking part of. He claimed he'd stay outside, with their soldiers, ensuring to stay hidden while he left the difficult job to the youngsters since they'd, allegedly, blend in easier. No, Azula didn't believe for a second that he was doing it for any other reason besides being appalled by the notion of waddling through literal rivers of shit.

But the more shocking moment of the experience came afterwards: as much as they tried to sneak through the city unnoticed, they failed to be stealthy enough to avoid hostilities by Fire Nation soldiers. And while Aang and Katara managed to keep most at bay with their bending, a sudden flurry of projectiles cast towards Sokka when he was busy parrying a soldier's flames with his club, caused Azula to leap forward and banish them away from him with a blast of blue flames… and a familiar voice suddenly spoke, in the darkness of Omashu's night streets:

"Azula?"

Those projectiles. That voice. Azula froze in place as she raised her gaze to find a silhouette so familiar, and yet so much more grown than she had last seen it. It couldn't be anyone else but her, though…

"Mai," she spoke, swallowing hard. No, she wasn't ready to confront her former friend, she truly wasn't, but if it came to it…

Mai seemed to snarl and rush towards them: that was Azula's first sign that something was different. Aang and Katara geared up to defend themselves, but Azula stretched her arm before them, stopping her new friends from attacking the old, who merely raced through streets, silently asking her to follow. And so Azula did, leading her three companions while ignoring and disregarding the soldiers shouting after them – as well as Mai's mother, who appeared to be aghast that her daughter had rushed off somewhere, straight towards the action.

After much running through maze-like streets, they reached a small, empty hut that stank of stale fish, a smell Azula found most distressing, but it seemed that very stench would serve to ward off the soldiers, as per Mai's logic. She ushered them inside and then they waited: the troops rushed past, searching further down the streets, assuming no one would be hiding within the old market's fishing storage room.

"My parents shut this place down about a week ago," Mai explained. "I knew it'd be empty. I try not to pay attention to their boring business, but…"

"Why would they even shut anything down?" Azula asked, aghast. "Mai, what are you doing here?"

"So… she really is your friend?" Sokka asked, with an awkward smile. "Not that I doubted you, Azula, but maybe a little heads-up would've been nice."

"I didn't think we'd have time to introduce you all when escaping from rabid soldiers, mind you," Azula sighed, shaking her head. Mai raised her eyebrows.

"Huh. You found yourself a boyfriend, then?" she asked. Both Sokka and Azula flinched and blushed, grateful that the darkness of the room wouldn't allow anyone to pick up on their reactions all that easily.

"He's…! W-well…" Azula mumbled. Sokka pouted.

"Not really like we've discussed what terms we want to use, so, uh, I mean…"

"Yes. He is her boyfriend," Katara said, with a blunt smile. "And I'm his sister. And this is…"

"Their friend," Azula cut off, once Aang's introduction came next. "Just as she is Mai, my old friend from school."

"I'm surprised you've made so many new friends, actually. You were never much good at that," Mai said, bluntly. "But it's a good thing, I guess, so… congratulations. Invite me to the wedding."

"We're a little too young to get married, right?" Sokka said, with a small voice. "But, well, if you wait for a few years, surely…"

"Surely?" Azula asked, startled.

"W-well, I mean, once I convince you I'm worth marrying, right?"

To Azula's surprise, Mai snorted. She couldn't remember when was the last time she ever heard her friend laugh – maybe she never had, actually. She turned a confused stare towards Mai, who shook her head sadly.

"Must be fun, huh? Not having everyone choosing your life for you," she said. "Not that I complain too much about my lot, I could be worse off, but… I'm not in Omashu because I want to be, for starters. The armies took the city a few months ago. My father was offered the position of governor, and he accepted it without a second thought. We've been here for a week and I already want to die if it means release from this drab place…"

"My mother…" Azula said. Mai tensed up immediately. "This was all her doing, obviously. Do you know anything else about her plans? Anything…?"

"What are you trying to do?" Mai asked, eyeing Azula with unexpected compassion. "You're not… trying to rebel against her, are you? It hasn't gone well for those who've tried…"

"I'm not stupid enough to be scared just because of that," Azula hissed. "Surely there's still enough dissenters…"

"Less and less every day," Mai said. Azula's heart sank. "She… gets rid of them. One by one, without leaving a trace. The Fire Nation… it's terrorized by its leader, I guess."

"And Zuko is fine with that? He doesn't do anything to…?" Azula said. Mai's eyes dropped to the ground at those questions.

"Zuko… has changed. Not to the point where he isn't himself anymore, but…" Mai said, grimacing. "He's not the boy who'd save me from burning apples anymore. Without you, without your father, he's different. Your mother's doing, I guess…"

"So… what, you don't care about him anymore?" Azula asked. If Zuko had changed so much that even Mai, who had loved him since childhood, couldn't endure it anymore… just what kind of madness was taking place in the Fire Nation?

"I didn't say that. I know his true self, his better sides, are still somewhere deep inside him," Mai said, closing her eyes. "But all this power, all your mother's teachings… they've done him a lot of harm. He's become… arrogant. He gets away with anything he wants to do. He can even hurt servants in fits of rage, if he feels like it, and… and no one cares. The servants vanish after. I… I've been with him, for all these years since you were banished. Technically, this assignment of my father's is meant to cement my eventual marriage to him, but… I can't be as excited about it as I was when I didn't know what I was signing up for."

"Then… it's my mother's influence. That's all there is to it," said Azula, looking at Mai pleadingly. "Join us. Help us release the king, and come with us. You can help us fight my mother, get Zuko back to who he…"

Mai shook her head slowly, and Azula's heart sank.

"If you want the king, I'll give him to you. But I… I can't fight against him, Azula. I may not be happy with who he is anymore, but… I love your brother. I think I always will."

"What…? No! You can't…! Mai, if you love him, that's all the more reason to fight!" Azula exclaimed, exasperated. "You should want to bring him back to who he was when you fell in love with him, you should…!"

"I'm not gullible enough to believe that's possible," Mai said, startling Azula. "It would be grand, if he chose to turn back into who he was before, but… I won't hold my breath. Innocence can't be regained when lost. I fear as much, at least."

Azula gritted her teeth, tightening her fists so much her nails dug into her palms painfully. So that was it? That was her choice? It was outrageous… unbelievable. It made no sense to Azula, and yet the reality of the situation dawned on her further: her mother had damaged the Fire Nation on every possible level she could have. She had corrupted her brother's once-pure soul, and turned him into someone even Mai couldn't love as wholeheartedly as she once had. She had done away with every smidge of resistance until there was nothing left… and now she was taking over every remaining city in the Earth Kingdom, no doubt intending to conquer every city left in the large continent, perhaps to gift the whole world to her puppet son once he reached his seventeenth birthday.

Those thoughts were tormenting her when Mai led them all the way to the statue being erected at the top of Omashu's tallest pyramid: Azula scowled upon recognizing it was made in her mother's image. How she wished to be an earthbender and tear the damn thing to pieces…

But where the king, suspended in a strange coffin, should have rejoiced over the opportunity to leave the city without a hassle, he instead refused to do so, surprising the previously thrilled Aang, who stared at him in chagrin at those words. The king made up some strange excuses about neutral jing, doing nothing, as an option in fighting, and claimed his moment to reclaim his city would arrive in due time. In the end, their venture into the second largest city of the continent was but a waste of time, and a rather depressing one at that. Mai led them to the sewers again, and Azula glanced at her as she walked away, knowing her friend meant her no harm with her decision… but knowing, too, that there was no way she'd change her mind. Zuko was Mai's priority… no matter what kind of man he might have become.

* * *

"We should simply teach him firebending! What's the point of sticking to the damn cycle of elements anyway? The idea is for the Avatar to learn it all! He's had two perfectly capable firebenders to teach him for months and we haven't taught him a single thing because you won't allow it!"

"The cycle is what it is for good reason, Azula. An airbending Avatar needs to learn how to ground himself before he can firebend, lest he will lose control of his fire in virtue of how volatile the element and his bending in general will be. The same is true for everything else! A firebending Avatar learns waterbending to temper his flames before the air stokes them out of control…!"

"And it's always the fire that's the problem. Funny philosophies you have, Uncle."

"My philosophies are the product of study and tradition. This is done this way for good reason, Azula: the Avatar is a delicate entity, and any mistakes in his upbringing could result in a catastrophe!"

"Then what the hell are we going to do, huh? Please, enlighten me!" Azula exclaimed, rising to her feet as she glared at her Uncle. Sokka grimaced, sitting beside her by the fire as they'd been. "Are we going to stay put because we can't convince one damn earthbender out of thousands to teach the Avatar? Do we let my mother get away with everything she's done so far? I thought we had an agreement…!"

"And we still do," Iroh said, sternly. "But we both agreed to be lenient with each other, flexible, until everything was resolved. And you aren't being that right now…"

"Neither are you, Mr. Tradition and Study," Azula scowled, shaking her head and storming off without another word.

Aang and Katara shrank awkwardly by the fire as Iroh sighed. Sokka, of course, grimaced and stood up.

"I'll go after her," he said. "Though… I do think I agree with her. Not just about the bending, but… what are we going to do if we can't release the king? You were betting on these alliances to be strong enough to defeat the Fire Lady… but is anything that powerful?"

"I… don't know," Iroh admitted, quietly.

Sokka sighed and walked away, following the trail Azula had left through. She sat by the edge of the mountain they were camping at, glaring at Omashu in the distance, when he took his seat beside her again.

"Want to make out?" Azula blurted out, suddenly. Sokka nearly fell off the mountain altogether at the sudden question. "Can't say I'm in the mood… but it might help me feel better."

"Well… maybe after we talk?" Sokka said, with an awkward smile. Azula sighed and buried her face in her knees. Sokka reached out, caressing her head. "Azula…"

"I get it now. I… I understand how you must feel about me," she said. Sokka froze, unsure of what she would mean by that. Was she trying to end things between them, somehow…? Oh, he sure hoped she wasn't… "I've kept rambling on and on about my revenge quest… but I've never said I'm against anything the Fire Nation did in the war, have I?"

"Uh… yeah. I guess you haven't," Sokka admitted.

"It's because I wasn't," Azula said. Sokka frowned, his fingers slipping down from the top of her head to the nape of her neck. "I saw nothing wrong… with everything that we'd done. Because I wasn't raised to see it, so I didn't care to. Even when we met… I just wanted to end the war at all costs because I thought it'd be the worst blow against my mother. But now… if I'm feeling so lost, so angry over Omashu being hers, the people there must feel a thousand times worse. As must have everyone else, all across the Earth Kingdom, and the old Air Nomad bastions… though those aren't even alive to resent the Fire Lords for it. And yet it took this much for me to see it."

"At least you see it now," Sokka said, biting his lip.

"But I also see why you couldn't trust me. It's why I never encouraged you to trust me, too," Azula mumbled. "I'm like Mai, aren't I? It doesn't matter if I know the Fire Nation is wrong, or breaking balance, I… I just want to fight for it. I want to do what's right by it. Even… if it doesn't deserve that."

"Heh… I don't know if the whole nation deserves your hard work or not," Sokka said, lowering his hand to clasp hers. "But you're not like her. You're taking action, right? You want to fight back. She's given up, but you never did."

"I'm not fighting the right battle, though, am I?" Azula said, glancing at him. "It doesn't end just with dethroning her. Not if she's corrupting Zuko as Mai says she did. Whatever my uncle may say or think about him, my brother… he has an awful temper. He's hot-headed and impulsive, and there's no way mother's death or forceful removal would ever sit well with him. He needs to understand what's wrong with the Fire Nation, just as I have, but… he won't. He just… won't."

"Then maybe the Fire Nation needs another Fire Lord," Sokka said, gazing at her meaningfully. Azula frowned before shooting him a wary glance. "Or… is it Fire Lady in this case too? I'm sorry, I don't really know…"

"I… take the throne? Instead of Zuko?" Azula asked. Sokka shrugged.

"If you want to, make it a temporary thing," he said. "Until he's seen enough of the world, if you can trust him to do what's right by his people if he learns better. Or you can just depose him for good, and take the throne yourself to guide the Fire Nation to a better future… I mean, you could, right? You've been friends with us… you've helped us, protected us, given us a chance to fight back, even if for your own reasons. I… I know I shouldn't trust you, right? But… I think I do now. Even if I didn't mean to… I do."

"So, if I let you down, I'll hurt you," Azula concluded, with a grimace. "That's fun…"

"I'm sorry if it's a lot of pressure," Sokka smiled sadly. "But… come on, I wouldn't make out with someone I can't trust."

"Why not? Could be fun," Azula huffed.

"Wait, it 'could' be? Here I thought you'd say you're doing that with me," Sokka smirked.

To his relief, Azula smiled before leaning in to kiss him softly. Sokka returned the gesture, finishing off by pressing another kiss to the tip of her nose.

"Guess I've ended up trusting you too. Curses, we're a mess," Azula sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face to his shoulder. "I just… feel at ease with you. I trust that you won't betray me… I trust that I understand you, no matter how different we are. And yet I… I can't trust the Fire Nation. I can't trust anyone there, not my friends, not my family, I… I don't know what to do. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. And I can't say any of this to anyone but you… which is already a miracle. Because I… couldn't tell anyone, before I met you. I spent three years letting my thoughts fester…"

"And now you can share them with me" Sokka said, smiling warmly at her "Look… I don't know if I'll help at all by saying this, but before we met, I hated the Fire Nation. Now, because of you… I can't hate it, not really. What I'm thinking is… you're a product of that mess of a culture, just as everyone else you know is. But you're also proof that not everything in the Fire Nation is doomed, Azula. You're proof great things can come from it… and you're proof they can change their ways, too. If you've learned from all this… if you can't help but empathize with those who've lost their homes, their hope, their very nation… then it means you're the one better suited for breaking the Fire Nation's cycle, the best hope this world has. I know the path ahead wouldn't be easy, but… I'll be here. Even if your mom goes down, and your brother leaves you be, and you get to rule the Fire Nation and bring it back into proper harmony, I'll be right there with you, every step of the way."

"You… you took the marriage thing that seriously, huh?" Azula sakd, with a weak grin. Sokka chuckled and shrugged.

"I like you more and more every day, as it is," he whispered. "I… I guess maybe at this point I even…"

"You even…?" Azula said, her heart racing as she waited for him to finish his sentence. He smiled and bit his lip, almost shyly.

"I even might love you. But, you know, I've never felt like this with a girl, so… it's all new for me and I don't know if it's love yet," he laughed. "I… kind of want it to be, though."

"You… want to love me?" Azula asked. Sokka grinned and nodded. "That's… a strange concept. But… it's somewhat cute, I guess."

"Glad you think so," Sokka chuckled.

Azula smiled as she leaned in to kiss him again. She hadn't said the words back, but this was the second-best follow-up, as far as he could tell. She wasn't quite so forthright with feelings, he had noticed… she had been far more honest tonight than in most their long conversations before he left for his cabin at night on the ship. He felt a little closer to her now, and that was a blissful sensation indeed. She had been troubled before, but now… she seemed hopeful. She had heard him out… and she understood him. Maybe she didn't agree with everything… maybe she didn't want to take the throne for herself in the end. But she smiled anyways after their kiss broke off, and his heart soared because of it.

Iroh seemed relieved when Azula returned in better spirits… and he didn't ignore the bold handholding between the pair of teenagers. He held back a smile, though he remained silent until Azula's voice reached him.

"Our next goal should be gathering support throughout the Earth Kingdom," Azula declared, firmly, as though she hadn't been upset mere moments ago. "I propose we go to the largest cities, especially if you have any contacts in them. We'll find a proper earthbending master for Aang eventually, I'd assume."

"That… yes, sounds reasonable," Iroh said, nodding. "Then… we'll leave Omashu be?"

"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Azula sighed. "And we still have a war and a Fire Lady to stop. At all costs. If King Bumi is sure he can fix this himself somehow, it's his business, but we can move forward regardless. There's no reason to think the war effort should be over only because Omashu has fallen."

Her renewed determination, after her previous bout of frustration, had soothed Iroh deeply. He smiled again as they made arrangements to continue their journey, and while they wouldn't have it as easy to travel as before, for they'd need to leave their soldiers on the ship if they didn't want to garner unwanted attention in Earth Kingdom settlements, their reinvigorated direction aided the group's mood greatly.

The city of Gaoling was their next goal, and while Iroh took his time to arrange matters to gain the local nobles' favor, the younger members of the group busied themselves with finding an earthbending master for Aang. After a fruitless attempt to have him train in Master Yu's school, they found out about an underground earthbending battling ring… and while Azula enjoyed watching her boyfriend – the word still felt foreign, but she was growing used to it gradually – screaming excitedly to his heart's content over each combat, she enjoyed nothing quite as much as his horror when the champion of these duels stepped into the fray at last, and defeated Sokka's favorite fighter with nothing but a few well-calculated blows.

Aang had been convinced immediately that the small girl was his fated master, but his intervention in the fights, and attempt to challenge her only to request her help, hadn't gone so well. In the end, they wound up returning to the earthbending school in hopes to track down any information about the Blind Bandit, but their best attempts amounted to nothing. In the end, they merely followed Iroh into yet another one of his meetings with local nobles… and curiously, a small girl in the Beifong family looked enough like the Blind Bandit – and even acted like her, whenever her parents weren't watching, by lashing out at Aang when he dared tell her the dress suited her too – that it seemed they had happened to discover her identity all the same: the blind daughter of the richest family in Gaoling, Toph Beifong.

What followed that discovery was a spree of wild madness: Aang and Toph were taken prisoners by Sokka's admired earthbending fighter, and as much as Azula, Katara, Sokka and Iroh rushed to their rescue, Toph ended up defeating all the enemies herself. Even then, her parents seemed unwilling to allow her to leave with them… and it seemed she truly did wish to, despite she had rejected the notion of teaching Aang any earthbending so far, even after he told her he was the Avatar.

Yet, just as they were ready to give up…

"I… think I shall have a chat with the Beifongs, before we go," Iroh told Azula, with a bright grin. Azula blinked blankly.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked. "I thought you'd already said they weren't going to be much help in the war effort…"

"That's still true. But I may be able to resolve another problem, if I play my tiles right," Iroh grinned, patting her shoulder before reentering the Beifong mansion.

"What do you think he'll do?" Sokka asked, clasping Azula's hand in his own. Azula grimaced.

"Knowing him? Charm the Beifongs into letting Toph come with us," she said. Sokka scoffed, and Aang groaned.

"It'll never work…" Aang pouted. "They won't let her."

"It's not very likely," Sokka agreed. Katara sighed in defeat as well.

"We'll have to find someone else to…"

"Hey, guys! I'm coming with you!"

Toph voice broke through the conversation: they all turned around in utter disbelief to find the earthbender's parents were crying, hugging Iroh, talking about entrusting their daughter's safety to him. Toph was still wearing her fancy regal clothes, but she had put together a quick bag anyway, and she rushed towards them and Appa with the brightest grin on her face.

"Told you," Azula smiled dryly, as Sokka laughed and shook his head.

"He'd charm a starving man out of his last breadcrumbs, looks lik,e" Sokka said. "That's one less problem, right? We have our earthbender! And now…"

"Now… Ba Sing Se," Azula said, glancing at him with determination: that next goal would be pivotal, crucial, in ending the war to their favor.

They traveled by bison at first, intending to catch up with their ship again halfway through the ocean. Whenever they stopped for a short break, Aang and Toph would work on their earthbending training, or Aang and Katara would work on their waterbending instead. In the meantime, Iroh continued to craft his plans for the next stages of their rebellion… and Azula and Sokka either helped him or hid away for a while for further privacy, returning to the group half an hour later, holding hands and smiling rather carelessly. And while Azula had no intentions of chatting with her uncle about her growing relationship with the Water Tribesman, she certainly had noticed he seemed more likely to smile at her these days, watching over her as, perhaps, a doting father might… not that she thought her own father would ever have approved of this relationship, though. It was, perhaps, an advantage that it was Iroh with her right now, while she explored this rather new walk of life with Sokka.

Toph wasn't particularly thrilled to be stuck on a metal ship once they reached their favored means of transportation, and often demanded she and Aang took off on Appa so they could get some training done in the outskirts of the eastern Earth Kingdom. The pair had only returned from one such journey when one of the soldiers informed Iroh that Ba Sing Se's wall was within view.

"Very well… very well," Iroh nibbled on the tip of his thumb, as his niece stood beside him, arms crossed.

"How will we get in?" she asked. "I doubt we'll find a sewer to sneak through this time… and I also doubt I'll bump into any of my friends here to give us a hand. Do you have any contacts in the city?"

"Regrettably… none I've been able to reach," said Iroh. "But it makes no matter! We shall find a way through, Azula. I have a few ideas on how to do it: we can go incognito! Pretend to be travelers, innocent ones, completely harmless…"

"And how will innocent travelers ever earn an audience with the Earth King?" Sokka asked, blinking blankly: as ever, he stood beside Azula, a hand on her waist.

"Oh, you needn't worry, young man!" Iroh declared, proudly, rubbing his hands together. "I'll see to it myself. You'll be surprised just how far a careful set of words can bring you, if you speak them to the right person!"

"Huh…?" said Sokka, though he smiled at Azula. "Guess he might pull off the same thing he did in Gaoling, right?"

"Maybe. Is that what you intend?" Azula asked Iroh. He chuckled and shrugged.

"Just wait patiently, Princess Azula," he said, determined and enthusiastic. "I shall not lead any of you astray!"

* * *

"Well… that sure didn't go as planned, eh?" Iroh smiled awkwardly, at the four sets of glaring eyes that bore into him… and the scowling, sightless eyes that weren't aimed in his direction, but might as well have been.

Being stuck in a narrow space with Sokka's arms around her body wouldn't have displeased Azula under any other circumstances… but a prison cell could easily kill any romantic mood she might have felt, and she certainly had felt none from the moment they had been captured and dragged into Ba Sing Se as prisoners rather than honored guests, regardless of Iroh's many promises.

Their attempt to enter the city through the passports Iroh had procured for them – with the help of some mysterious associate he had met while they traveled with Appa near the Misty Palms Oasis – had been an absolute failure. While he had certainly charmed the woman at the counter, he had failed catastrophically at talking them out of a Dai Li inspection right afterwards. Even though all of them were clad in Earth Kingdom clothes, and Aang's every arrow was perfectly covered with a large hat and a tall collar, something about them had pissed off the earthbenders so much that they found themselves imprisoned in the Earth King's underground prisons now, and with very few hopes of escape, as far as they could tell.

"Ugh, just be quiet. I can try to get us out of here if I just… make a good key," Toph grumbled, using some of the earth of the ground to craft a useful method to either open or outright break the lock.

"We shouldn't even be here in the first place," Azula hissed, regardless of Sokka's soothing caresses to her hair. "What did you say to those bastards? It felt like they just decided to lock us up because they were annoyed by your rambling."

"Maybe. I am good at charming with words… not so good without them," Iroh admitted, stroking his beard.

"But it is excessive, isn't it?" Sokka reasoned. "I mean… unless they figured out who we are? Or at least, who you guys are? I'd think no one knows about Aang yet, right? Even in Omashu he didn't do anything too damning, did he?"

"No, and I deliberately held off from telling Mai who he was," Azula said. "While she's not a bad person, as far as I know, any information she gained on us could be used to destroy us. So… no, I didn't tell her. And in that darkness, I'm not sure if anyone could've noticed it if he was airbending."

"Then maybe they know who you and Iroh are," Katara mused, biting her lip. "Do you think that's possible?"

"Well… yes," Azula conceded.

"We're not very popular at the moment," Iroh admitted, closing his eyes.

"But would the Earth Kingdom know that?" Katara asked.

"They certainly know me as the man who tried to overtake their city, so… I can't say it's too surprising if they want me dead," Iroh admitted. "They may have simply seized us all just because they recognized me, despite the passports."

"And I guess maybe they could've captured Iroh to use him as a hostage to negotiate with the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked. "Just a thought…"

"Might just be the truth, actually," Azula mumbled, frowning.

That gloomy, discouraging possibility was followed up by a surprising sound: metal, screeching in a rather unexpected, unnatural manner.

"Toph?" Sokka called the youngest member of the group. She stood by the door and turned with a rather devious smirk.

"I, uh… think I discovered something," she said.

"Did you… y-you just broke through the metal door?!" Aang gasped, upon glimpsing that Toph's hand was past the door, through a small hole she had dug into it somehow. She couldn't have looked prouder.

"Guess… I'm a metalbender," she announced, grinning.

They were racing down the Palace basement's corridors moments afterwards, speeding up as fast as they could, hoping to find a hiding place, anywhere safe where they might be able to cheat the Dai Li, and either get out of the city or contact the king directly, and inform him of their situation. Aang spotted a staircase that led to the upper floors, and they all rushed towards it in a hurry…

"Wait. I sense people!" Toph exclaimed, grimacing before pulling out a chunk of the wall to use as a weapon against whoever stood outside the prison block's doors.

The others merely stepped out of the way while the earthbender heaved the massive projectile and tossed it, busting the door off its hinges, startling the soldiers in red and in green right outside the…

Red?

Azula's eyes widened when she identified those helmets, those dark uniforms, highlighted in crimson. But most of all, everyone gasped when an onslaught of fire scorched Toph's projectile and blasted it out of the way…

Azula's heart sank. It sank deeper and deeper as soon as she saw those crimson robes fully: Imperial Firebenders. That could only mean…

"Oh, dear. I suppose you've made rather uncivilized friends who cannot seem to greet others in an acceptable manner, haven't you? I expected something classier from you, Azula."

Her heart couldn't seem to settle between racing or stopping when her golden eyes found the honeyed-poison ones of the woman who had just spoken her name with derision. The woman who stood behind the Imperial Firebenders who had just stepped out of the way… revealing her, as well as a young man who stood beside her, proud and strong in his gold-lined armor, his chin held high despite his eyes betrayed a joviality and innocence that didn't befit a Crown Prince.

A joviality and innocence completely absent in the eyes of the woman he followed most obediently.

Azula felt Sokka tensing up beside her. She could tell Aang was nervous, that even Toph was doubting, that Katara was frantically looking for a way out, despite they were surrounded by hostile soldiers of two nations that should have only been enemies… that Iroh was as furious as she was, and for once, failing to conceal it properly.

This was why they had been imprisoned. This was why their plans were failing: she had made her move. And whatever her plans were now, she intended to take Ba Sing Se for herself. Perhaps she already had.

"Well?" said the elegant woman, raising her eyebrows skeptically. "Did they infect you with that uncivilized behavior, by any chance? Glaring at me in such a manner is most unbefitting, Azula…"

"How… how dare you…?" Azula hissed, her furious eyes gleaming. "Why are you…?! How are you even here?!"

The woman smiled, and Azula's tightened fists seemed poised to shatter with all her charged fury. Once she had pretended to be gentle, kind, a perfect mother with no ill intentions… she had long put aside such pretenses, and now stood before her with no masks, whatsoever.

"Answer me…" Azula snarled, glaring so fiercely it seemed she intended to set the woman on fire through willpower alone: "What are you doing here, Mother?!"

* * *

The soldiers had dragged most the group back to the prison cells. They had been locked in another one, this time with guards poised watching them, ensuring that even if they managed another miraculous escape that defied sense and reality, they wouldn't be able to make it very far without alerting the whole Palace that they were running. It seemed, to Azula's utter chagrin, that their first escape attempt had been a failure by mere chance: had Toph released them merely ten minutes earlier, they might have been able to get away.

"It was rather amusing, I must say. I had intended to visit you and your uncle, of course," Ursa was reciting, as she paced inside a Palace sitting room, a cup of steaming tea in her hand. She had poured another one, but Azula, the only other occupant in the room, by Ursa's express request, refused to touch it, no matter how parched she was. "But you two merely rushed me and my procession just when we were handling the security details regarding how to head down into that dark prison block as safely as possible! Amusing, truly…"

"You still haven't answered me," the exiled Princess said, her head hung, her arms chained behind her back, shackled just as her feet were, held down on the heavy table. She had managed to sit down… but that was as far as her movements would get her, apparently. "Why… why are you here? How? The Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation have been at war for…"

"For a hundred years, even longer if you're to take into account how poorly the Earth Kingdom responded to Fire Lord Sozin's first colonies, yes," Ursa said, carelessly, taking her seat at the other side of the table. She was the picture of regal luxury, clad in beautiful robes, sporting as many jewels and royal artifacts as she dared wear… whereas Azula was in an incognito outfit, filthy from her time in jail, her hair in disarray. And where Azula sat on the floor, without even a cushion, her mother relaxed in a smooth lounge, reclining sideways into perfect comfort. "Isn't it a rather drab business, the war? I've had to continue it, of course, the nation would've stood for nothing else, but… oh, there just had to be more effective ways to resolve all this, don't you believe?"

"Effective?" Azula repeated, breathing heavily. "Like what? Are you… y-you're trying to enter an alliance with the Earth King?"

"Trying? Do you really think I'd be here if I hadn't succeeded?" Ursa smirked. Azula's aghast expression only amused her mother further. "It wasn't quite so difficult, mind you: just a little persuasion goes a long way with unseasoned kings who don't know any better. King Kuei isn't even aware there's a war… his fool of an advisor never told him as much. Once I arrived for a diplomatic visit, how could they have refused me?"

"He didn't tell him…? The Earth King didn't know there was a war?" Azula asked. "That's absurd! How could they shelter him to a point where…?"

"Isn't it utterly embarrassing, really?" Ursa said, smiling and shaking her head. "I almost felt sorry for the poor thing. He's infatuated with me too, you see… perfectly useful for my purposes, of course. If I give him enough reason to believe he'll ever be able to craft a permanent alliance between our nations, he'll wind up signing his whole continent to me without his awareness…"

"And that's when you'll strike," Azula hissed, resisting the urge to spit at her mother right then and there. "Guess that's what you stoop to nowadays, huh? Seducing men to get your way?"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic. It's hardly my fault men are quite so foolish and gullible," Ursa said, raising her eyebrows dismissively as she took to checking her makeup. Azula snarled.

"That's surely what you thought of my father too, isn't it? Foolish and gullible… and then you killed him. You killed him, just as you killed my grandfather, all for Zuko's sake…!"

"Honestly, child," Ursa said, rolling her eyes before glancing at her skeptically. "Do you truly believe your incompetent father could've run this nation and finished this war with anything short of Sozin's Comet's second coming? Even then, he surely would have failed. He filled his mind with absolute delusions about how that throne belonged to him… as though he'd ever be capable of ruling without sending the whole nation into chaos and disaster. Am I questioned over my rise into power? No doubt: is the Fire Nation thriving, more than it ever did before? Of course it is. And neither your father nor your thrice-accursed grandfather could've achieved that. The Fire Nation's better than it ever was, and it's all because of me."

"I have a hard time believing that," Azula hissed. Ursa let out a soft chuckle and she shook her head.

"No doubt. You were your father's beloved golden daughter, weren't you?" Ursa said. "I suppose you would feel rather differently if he had been Fire Lord for longer than a week. And what a tragedy that was…"

"Tragedy? Tragedy?!" Azula snarled. "You and I both know you were behind that! You were! Quit playing pretense and admit it, if not to the world, to me! You've lied to my face for years, and then got rid of me because you knew I'd discover the truth! Now you've trapped me because you know I'm a threat! If you'll just lock me away somewhere, the least you can do for your daughter is admit your blasted crimes!"

"Lock you away? Oh, dear, again with the histrionics…" Ursa sighed, standing up and making her way to a nearby armoire. Azula glared at her mother fierce, wrestling with her chains, wishing she could move beyond being chained to the damn table. "What makes you think I'd want to keep you imprisoned, Azula, really?"

Azula huffed, breathing heavily as the reality and weight of those words sank inside her very soul. No, her mother didn't traditionally take prisoners. What she did was…

Her eyes widened just as Ursa turned around, a small vial of translucent liquid in her hands.

* * *

"Calm down, Sokka… you won't help her just by fretting in here," Katara told her brother, but Sokka refused to listen to reason.

"We have to get out. We have to. Toph, please…"

"There's a lot of soldiers out there," Toph said, biting her lip. "If we wait for a change of shift…"

"That could be too late!" Sokka exclaimed. "Azula is alone with her murderous mother! There's no way she'll be fine there, damn it! We have to…!"

"Shh," Toph said, suddenly. "Someone's coming."

Sokka fell silent begrudgingly, his heart racing and aching on equal amounts. No, no, no, he couldn't lose Azula, he simply couldn't lose her… he felt as though he were falling off Appa, with an unbearable vertigo, as though the whole world would shatter if he couldn't reach her on time…

The footsteps Toph had heard were audible eventually, and they stopped at their cell. The voice that accompanied them was only familiar for one member of their group, once they heard it:

"Leave me. I'll speak to my Uncle alone."

Wait… soldiers, dismissed? Sokka's eyes gleamed. It was their chance…!

Iroh shot him a warning glare, and Sokka's soaring heart sank all over again. Iroh turned towards the door, waiting for the young man outside to stop breathing heavily and to speak, outright.

"I… I'm sorry you're imprisoned, Uncle," said none other than Azula's brother, of course: Zuko. "I didn't want you to be, but Mother… she thinks you're dangerous. I've told her you're not, that you'd never hurt me, but she's sure you can't be trusted. I'm sorry she sent you away with Azula, you two never got along… it must have sucked. But hey, I'll try to convince Mother to let you stay with us! I'll be Fire Lord this year, so if you're patient I can revoke your exile sooner than you thought! You'll be able to come back home, Uncle… and I know things between you and Mother are messy, but I'll help you fix it. I will. I just… I miss you."

Sokka's harsh glare warned Iroh not to do anything foolish either. Iroh held his gaze for a moment, nodding weakly before speaking through the door.

"I missed you too, my nephew," he said, smiling heartily, offering his words yet another coating of warmth and kindness. "It wasn't easy, no… but while I didn't expect to reunite with you while I'm imprisoned, I sure rejoiced in it all the same. You've grown into a very handsome young man! Surely all the ladies in the city want to marry you…"

"Oh, haha, well, yeah…" Zuko laughed outside. Iroh grinned.

"I trust you, my nephew. I know your heart is in the right place. I'll wait until you can help me, but… is it okay if I make one request right now?"

"Sure! Anything you want, Uncle!"

"I would very much like to see your face properly… and give you a big hug."

Sokka blinked blankly. Katara and Aang stared at Iroh in confused chagrin while Toph's jaw dropped. No way. That was so obvious, it was even worse than ANYTHING he'd said to the Dai Li earlier…

"Oh… I'd need the keys for that. Give me a second! Guards!"

Iroh smirked, and Toph had to cover her mouth to avoid chortling. Sokka bit his lip, his heart racing at haste yet again…

The lock slid open. The door swung outwards. The regal Fire Prince, soon to be Fire Lord, stood right outside, smiling warmly at his uncle…

Iroh sighed and spread his arms, and Zuko knelt before hugging him. Iroh rocked him gently in his arms, and Zuko chuckled, no doubt elated that his perfect life would only improve from now on…

And then his whole body seemed to go numb right after Iroh's hand pinched him right at the nape of his neck.

"W-wha…?" he said, his voice trembling: even speaking seemed near impossible to him now. What on earth…?

"I'm sorry, Zuko. But I won't abandon your sister."

Sokka didn't wait for another moment before rushing the guards right outside: Toph helped him by slamming some into a wall while he attacked two with powerful bare fists, and Aang joined in by using his own earthbending to fight back. Katara smiled wildly as she leapt over Iroh and Zuko: the old general was pulling his nephew inside the prison cell, and he laid him there just after all the nearby guards were defeated: the betrayal in Zuko's eyes was heartbreaking.

"I'm sorry, truly," Iroh said, nodding in his direction before closing the door, locking it firmly.

"For a second there I thought…" Sokka told Iroh, breathing heavily. Iroh scoffed.

"You think I'd ever join my sister-in-law? After everything she's done?" Iroh said. "No matter how honeyed Zuko's words may be… I won't abandon Azula. You're not the only one who's loyal to her, you hear me?"

Sokka smiled and nodded, just as Katara returned to him, strapping her waterbending pouches to her body while handing Sokka his weapons.

"We need to find Azula," Sokka said, firmly. "Toph! Help us track her down!"

"Aye-aye, captain!"

They didn't waste time rushing to the stairs: Toph and Aang tore open the ceiling and they raised their group to the next floor with earthbending. There was no point in stealth anymore, not when they knew this was an enemy best fought through unpredictability… Sokka breathed deeply, leaping off the earthbending pillar once they reached solid ground – albeit now torn with a huge hole –, while Toph and Aang slammed their bare feet into the ground, searching the Palace's upper floors with seismic sense until they located Azula…

* * *

"You'll get your answer, I said… once you drink this. Simple, right?" Ursa smirked, stepping towards her daughter: Azula pulled away violently, keeping her lips tightly shut as her mother knelt beside her. "And here I thought you wanted to know the truth. Don't you want to anymore, Azula? That's just so confusing and contradictory…"

Azula would've snarled, would've protested, if she had thought her mother wouldn't empty the vial's contents in her mouth as soon as she dared separate her lips. Curse everything… curse it all. That was how she'd done it, then. Poison… a suitable weapon for one who didn't dirty her hands willingly. She was ever the picture of perfection… and now she intended to destroy her, just as she had destroyed her father. How many people had she killed this way? How many had suspected her, known she was up to no good, and she had simply offed them right then and there? Azula couldn't even venture a guess. Her whole body screamed rejection, and she tugged at her chains in a hopeless attempt to release herself from the shackles…

But Ursa only smirked where she knelt, cockily raising her eyebrows defiantly, waiting for Azula to make a mistake. Hoping to goad her into making them, even.

"It's supposed to be tasteless. You surely won't feel a thing," she said. "Your father was quite calm when he drank it mixed with a cup of rice wine that night, if I recall right. Oh, no… it was lychee wine, wasn't it?"

Azula gasped: Ursa made her move: Azula screamed as her mother held her jaw forcefully, preventing Azula from slamming her mouth shut as she had intended to… and pouring the contents of the vial right into her mouth.

"That being said… I could've mixed it with your tea, if you preferred that. Would it have been better, perhaps? You might have enjoyed it better, right, Azula?" Ursa smirked: now she held the exiled Princess's jaw closed, doing her very best to prevent her from spitting out the liquid.

Azula's face was contorted with outrage, disgust and fear. She was going to die, she was actually going to die… and her mother had admitted the truth. She had admitted this was how she'd killed so many people, so many times…

"How I've longed for this moment…" Ursa said, holding her daughter down still, in a more violent display of strength than any Azula had seen from her until that day. "How I've wanted to get rid of your meddling, you spoiled brat. You won't take your brother's throne for yourself the way your damn father did with your uncle. Oh, yes, your uncle deserved it, but Zuko… he's the one true Fire Lord. And you… you were never meant to be born. You were an unwanted accident, one I'll put an end to, right now…!"

The floor underneath the table collapsed suddenly, loudly: Ursa gasped, her control on the situation shattering for long enough to release Azula… and for Azula to spit the entire content of the vial in her mother's face, to Ursa's horror.

She'd still need to rinse off, she had to do it as soon as possible, that damn thing had to be potent if Ursa believed such a small amount would suffice for murder… one quick glance nearly made her cry of joy rather than despair: tears did burn in her eyes after Ursa had damn near killed her, but they gained a new meaning now as Sokka jumped out of the hole in the ground towards her, concern clear in his face.

"Azula! Azula, I'm here, we're here…!"

"What have you done to her?!" Iroh bellowed, rushing towards Ursa and clasping her by the neck of her long dress. "Answer me!"

"P-poison…" Azula coughed, trying to spit out the remnants of the thing: Katara knelt before her, offering her some of her bending water to rinse her mouth fully, perhaps too invasively, but Azula didn't care. Not if it meant she'd survive… and she truly expected she would be, with Katara's help, while Sokka held her closely.

"To think I complained about my family being boring," Toph growled, holding a boulder at the ready to attack the Fire Lady.

"How could you do this to your own daughter?!" Aang asked, aghast. "You… you're not worthy of leading the Fire Nation! What you've done here today will be known…!"

"Ha! What's a child like you going to do anyways? I have soldiers, an army…!" Ursa shouted.

"And I'm the Avatar!" Aang shouted: yet it wasn't his voice alone: a sudden flash of light startled all of them, for his eyes had gained an unexpected white gleam, as well as the arrows in his body. Ursa's jaw dropped, and she trembled in Iroh's grip, even once the brightness faded, and the young boy no longer channeled a strange energy through his body. "I won't allow you to continue destroying this world's balance, or your own family, as you have! This war is over, and you're…!"

He fell silent when Azula rose to her feet, near stumbling as her blood rushed vertiginously through her veins. Iroh gazed at her with concern, as did Sokka, who held her gently…

"Toph. Can you… get rid of these chains?"

Toph did as she was told immediately, setting down her boulder to do so. It was a strange suspense that spread across the room, as Azula waited until each shackle was off… but she held the chains all the same. And she glared at her mother with mad fury across her bloodshot eyes.

"You killed my father," Azula said, firmly. "You poisoned his drink. You poisoned my grandfather just the same. You've killed countless in this manner, and admitted to planning on taking advantage of the Earth King for your schemes…"

"You… have no evidence…!" Ursa said, though her poised elegance was gone now: it was her turn to fear, for all tides had been turned against her: where were her soldiers? The Dai Li she had stolen out of Long Feng's control, after ensuring one of the kitchen cooks poisoned his meal? No one was coming to the rescue, but someone had to, someone would… "W-where's Zuko? What have you done to my son?!"

"He's safe and sound. Trust me, he'll never get the same treatment you will," Iroh said, scowling at Ursa.

"Yes. Zuko will live," Azula said, ominously. "She won't."

Her words floored everyone within the room, even the young man who held Azula closely. He gasped, tugging her towards him, but Azula clasped the chains with her now free hands, glaring at Ursa furiously.

"Azula, no!" Sokka exclaimed. "You can't just…!"

"She damn near killed me! She meant to, and she would've killed each of us, one by one, until no one stood against her!" Azula shouted back, trembling violently as she leveled her glare at Ursa. "I won't… I won't let you hurt anyone I love ever again… never again. I will kill you. I will kill you!"

"Azula, stop!" Sokka said, pulling her into an embrace she tried to shake off. Azula snarled, feeling the tears running down her face as she built her resolve: one murder, one more death, and the world would be set right. That was all it took, that was all… "You can break the damn cycle. We talked about this! You can put an end to the misery, to the hatred in the Fire Nation… but not if you continue what your mother already started. Not if you kill her now, just as she killed your father! Your people won't think you're any better than her! They'll assume you don't belong on a throne any more than she does…"

"I don't need a damn throne!" Azula shouted. "I just need…! I just need…!"

"You don't need to kill her. You think you do… but you're a better person than she could ever be," Sokka said, burying his face in her neck.

"Violence and death… that's what the Hundred Year War has been about," Aang said, gazing at Azula sadly. "Maybe… maybe it's not what you want to hear now. But… I think Sokka is right."

"I won't tell you she deserves better than death," Sokka said, gritting his teeth. "What she's done… what she nearly did to you, I want to kill her for that, too! But Azula… if she's dead, the world…"

"The cycle… won't ever break…" Azula whispered, gritting her teeth. "If I kill her…"

"You… you shouldn't kill me, no!" Ursa said, clinging to the sudden possibility of survival that had reared its head when she expected otherwise. "Azula, truly, I only did everything for Zuko! Your grandfather would've killed him, and your father would've done worse…!"

"Shut the hell up!" Azula shouted, glaring at her again. Ursa gritted her teeth, as Iroh scowled at her too.

"No past crimes by your victims will justify what you've done," Iroh said. "You killed my father… and my brother. You nearly killed my niece, too. You've corrupted my nephew's mind while he was none the wiser. And while you won't die today… you shall spend every last day of your life paying for those crimes."

"N-no… no, Iroh, you can't do this to me… I'm the Fire Lady… I'm the Fire Lady!" Ursa shouted. Iroh smirked.

"Not anymore, you're not," he said, curtly.

The meaning of his words wasn't clear, not beyond the obvious: Ursa would be deposed officially, starting today. The bulk of the soldiers who meant to protect her had been defeated effectively by their surprise attacks while they rushed to find Azula: next, they'd visit the Earth King, and explain everything to him thoroughly. And once they were ready, they'd return to the Fire Nation… and Ursa wouldn't see the light of day for the rest of her life.

But who would take her position instead? No one could tell just yet. There was one candidate, locked in a prison, stealthily chi-blocked by his uncle. There was another, cradled in her boyfriend's arms, crying in despair as she relented, accepting that her revenge wasn't what was best for the world, no matter how deserved it might be. And the final candidate, born and raised under the belief that he'd become Fire Lord one day, seemed to believe a new, fresher generation was better than himself for the role.

And as they lingered inside that room, calming down, waiting for the remaining, loyal soldiers to the Earth King to arrive upon being summoned by Toph's shouts out the window, none of them knew what the future would bring… but with Ursa defeated at last, it seemed fitting to believe the war was finally over. It hadn't been the epic bending brawl many expected… but when it came to ending wars, especially the long ones, what mattered most to anyone was that it was finally over, regardless of the manner in which they ended.

* * *

A world in peace was a concept that had eluded most their generations. That the Fire Nation would have suddenly withdrawn its troops from the Earth Kingdom, that they had signed treaties of peace with all remaining nations, would have sounded as an impossible, absurd delusion for most people… and yet it was their new reality. A reality that many people cherished deeply, though few cherished it quite as much as the heroes who, in a rather unexpected manner, had defeated the woman who had led the Fire Nation for the last six years.

Zuko, despite all hopes, had taken Iroh's actions as an unbearable betrayal. He would have been granted leniency, but he wanted none of it: he sought to attack his uncle and his sister as soon as he had a chance, demanding for reparations, for justice to be served, for his mother's freedom to be restored… and as much as it had pained Iroh, he had no choice but to restrain Zuko as well. His loyalty to Ursa was unquestioned… but misplaced, just as well. He would be likely to receive second chances in the future… but not until he was ready to listen to the truth. And for now, he certainly was anything but ready for that conversation.

The widespread fear Ursa had subjected her people to became apparent once Azula and Iroh returned home as the new leaders of the Fire Nation: they never expected a hero's welcome, and yet that was what they had received nonetheless. After many debates and thorough conversations with the nobles, the unanimous decision was made: Iroh would take the position of regent for a few years, to guide the transition between Ursa's rule and Azula's future one. The reinstated Princess wouldn't be crowned right away, but the Fire Nation had readily accepted her as their next ruler just the same. Surely occasional opposition would rise, as Ursa's loyalists would still linger somewhere… but fortunately, Azula had more than enough loyalists of her own to back her up.

The most important of them, of course, were currently in the Palace's garden, three of them engrossed in an all-out triple bending battle: Aang laughed as his airbending skills helped him avoid Katara and Toph's attacks, which too often resulted in the two girls striking each other instead. Azula was amused as well as she watched their fight, leisurely relaxing in Sokka's arms as he cuddled her gently.

"Odd… we were supposed to teach him all the elements, but the war ended without him learning any fire," Azula said. Sokka chuckled, kissing her brow.

"The war is over, though. He has plenty of time to learn now," he said. "And he'll have a great teacher, right? Whether you, or Iroh…"

"Eh, I'd be a dreadful teacher…"

"Heh! I'm only a decent warrior now thanks to you, you hear me? I learned a lot from you!"

Azula laughed, nuzzling his neck as she released a deep breath. Sokka smiled, rubbing her back reassuringly: these days, his tense Princess had been much more relaxed than usual. Coming home had done her good, he had no doubts about it… but perhaps it was also the knowledge that she'd helped set the world onto a better course that allowed her to breathe more easily. Her fingers clung to his shirt, clasping it gently, ensuring they'd stay close together for as long as possible… stabilized by the young man who had become her most loyal supporter, and the kindest boyfriend she could have ever hoped to find.

"I know it'll still be a while… and you should make sure to rest and recover from your years on the road while you can," Sokka said, rocking her gently in his arms. "But… I can't wait to see the wonders you'll weave, Fire Lord Azula."

"Wonders?" Azula repeated, smiling weakly. "I doubt that…"

"I don't," Sokka grinned enthusiastically.

"Who'd have thought the most loyal of my subjects wouldn't even be from my nation, huh?" Azula smiled, raising her head towards. him "Somehow… it feels fitting, too."

"We're breaking the cycle," Sokka said. "Marrying a Water Tribe guy? Sounds like just the way to break it for good, as far as I can tell. No old, outdated traditions will ever be followed: time to bring about harmony and peace in the best way possible, right, Azula?"

"By marrying each other? In a few years, that is," Azula said, smiling warmly. "I wouldn't trust anyone else to be my husband anyway."

"And I wouldn't trust anyone else to be my wife," Sokka said, stroking her hair. "It is kind of funny how life turns out, huh? We've come full circle, completely…"

"We have. And I'm definitely proud of it," Azula smiled, raising her head to kiss his lips. "Though… there's one thing left to do, to finish that notion."

"Oh yeah?" Sokka asked, amused.

"I… think I might love you too," Azula said, teasingly. "And even if I don't, I want to."

"Ah… hah," Sokka laughed, pressing his brow to hers. Azula grinned, kissing him again. "You're always so clever… always so clever."

Azula laughed as they exchanged more kisses, deliberately ignoring the loud, rowdy bending battle in the gardens. And from the corner of the nearest corridor, Iroh smiled fondly too, watching his niece from a distance. Theirs had been a strained relationship for a long time… but it certainly wasn't that anymore. Azula had been deeply grateful upon hearing of what he'd done to help save her… how he had set aside Zuko, and privileged her safety instead. By now, their relationship was better than ever… and it would continue to be, Iroh knew, as long as he didn't interfere in her private moments with her beloved Water Tribe warrior.

"I, too, can barely wait to see the wonders you shall weave," Iroh spoke quietly, closing his eyes and turning his back on the Princess.

She would make an excellent Fire Lord, he was sure of that… but for now, he would let her enjoy her time with her closest friends, in a peaceful environment, with no heavy pressures weighing on her shoulders. After all the hardships she had endured, and the pain she had suffered through, he had no doubts she had earned these miraculous moments of peace. Yes, peace, no doubt, was the best word to describe the beautiful scene he had just witnessed at a distance in the palace's garden, and in his earnest opinion, no one deserved such blissful harmony quite as much as Azula did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I have no doubts I've cemented myself a terrible reputation for all my Ursa portrayals, I do want to set clear that I didn't write this particular entry to villify her, despite that's what it'll look like to some... the truth is, the whole basis of this idea came from the very frequently debated AUs where Azula is the banished one, rather than Zuko. I pondered under which circumstances could Azula EVER wind up banished at a young age, as well as how the blazes she'd ever be banished with Iroh, who'd most likely not join her of his own volition, if his characterization is kept true to his canon self. Then the idea of turning someone else into the bigger bad came to mind, someone both Azula and Iroh would develop personal grudges against, to the point of setting aside their differences to work together.
> 
> This is, therefore, just a matter of exploring storytelling possibilities for me - as can be obvious by the fact that this is, by FAR, my most favorable portrayal of Iroh up to date. I usually don't write him this way, just as I usually don't see Ursa as a character remotely as dark as she was in this entry: all was done for the sake of exploring storytelling posibilities and nothing else. One day I might surprise by offering you all a favorable Ursa portrayal, for a change! :'D All this being said, it's fine if you don't enjoy Ursa as I portrayed her here, but I want to set the record straight, it wasn't done for the sake of making her appear a fundamentally worse person than Ozai or anyone else. Basically, this is an Ursa who decided to stop at nothing to keep her son safe. And while that sounds pretty in paper, it can also have a very dark meaning, and that's why things turned out this way.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this story anyway!


	8. Day 8: Yakuza AU

The soft whirring of the machine stopped, and the teenager who had been flinching on the tattooing chair now gazed at him with tearful, hopeful eyes.

"I-is it done now?"

"It's done," the tattoo artist replied, setting down his implements. "You're a whole new man, eh?"

"W-will girls think I'm cool now?"

"Oh, please. Tattoos are a mark of greatness! You should know this!" the artist laughed, shaking his head. "The worthwhile girls, yes, will love a good tattoo on a cool man, I guarantee it."

He was only eighteen, so he was old enough to make wild decisions he might regret in the future. He had graduated from high school recently, and wanted to impress girls once he started college, apparently. If only a tattoo were a guarantee of a shift in personality and confidence… but for most common people, it was but a placebo they forgot about soon enough. Tattoos didn't mean the same to them as they meant to a certain, select group of people…

That select group didn't request for machine tattoos, or vivid, sometimes even fickle designs that held simple meanings. But _irezumi_ , or _tebori_ , were a true sign of strength, a rite of passage he had branded onto his own skin successfully many times now… a sign that revealed the difficult, disciplined way of life he'd abided by for his adult years, even if he still worked with machine tattooing system on the side, too.

He left the teenager to recover for a few minutes, and then guided him to the parlor's door: a new arrival held it open just as the boy was slithering out, and the innocent young man shrank in his frame upon glimpsing the tall, intimidating man who stood outside the parlor. With so many tattoos across his body, he appeared to be a most dangerous threat to a young man who only wanted to visit the parlor for a simple snake tattoo upon his forearm – it hadn't even been bigger than three inches.

"E-excuse me!" the teenager squeaked, rushing out as fast as he could. From inside the store, Sokka smirked as he watched him go.

"Definitely not of our type of people, eh?" he said, glancing at the older man by the door.

The same smirk appeared on his counterpart's face, and the man even let out a hearty laugh before reaching to clasp his shoulder with his strong hand.

"Seems like business is doing well, son?" he asked. Sokka grinned and nodded.

"So far, so good!" he said, ushering Hakoda inside the parlor. "I know Master Piandao thought I shouldn't practice both traditional and modern tattoos… but hey, it pays. Casual kids these days don't think our lifestyle's worth emulating, but they sure believe tattoos make them more interesting…"

"A good belief to have," Hakoda declared. Sokka chuckled as he collected two cans of soda from a small fridge behind his desk, offering one to his father quickly. "Though… as it is, our clan could do with more than tattoos to move forward, Sokka."

"Uh… what's that supposed to mean?" he said, blinking blankly as Hakoda accepted his offer of a drink.

"It means… well, you know just the type of work I've been trying to get into," Hakoda said, his voice lowering into a growl. His business voice, Sokka had learned as much since childhood. "But it's been a problem, you see? Those damn Homura…"

"Are they fighting our people again?" Sokka groaned, shaking his head. "They keep sneaking into our territory and then pretend we're the ones at fault…"

"They surely think we are. The Homura, as you well remember, have been around since the Edo period," Hakoda sighed. "We're too new to earn their respect. But that's precisely why I'm here today."

"Because… you have a plan on how to earn it? Or you have a plan to get rid of the Homura, fancy ancestral clan it is?" Sokka asked, crooking an eyebrow before sipping his drink. Hakoda smirked.

"I have a plan to get rid of the problem they pose, yes," he said. "And I think you, my wonderful heir, are the most suitable person to fulfill it."

"I… what?" Sokka said, with an awkward grin. "Uh, that's a little much, isn't it? You sure, dad? Why me?"

"Well, for one thing, this is crucial for our clan's survival," said Hakoda. "Can't entrust such a delicate operation to anyone I can't fully rely on…"

"And I'm the best choice for it?" Sokka asked, puzzled. "I thought I was supposed to focus on the tattoo-side of things…"

"You are, of course," Hakoda continued, with a shrug. "But a young man as talented and intelligent as you… surely you can take care of both things at the same time?"

"That's a lot of trust you're putting on me," Sokka chuckled. "But I guess I'll have to hear you out first, huh? What's your plan, dad?"

* * *

Unwelcome news weren't too surprising in any yakuza clans. That being said, it wasn't every day the uncontested crime bosses of Kobe would find themselves troubled by the behavior of any of their competition… for there was no sense in there being any competition in the first place. They already had control of the area, they'd held it for years, and they had no intentions of yielding it, only of cementing it further.

Methods to achieve such a feat were more complicated than other clans might have believed: they didn't merely deal in common crime, but also in crime at the very heights of society. It wasn't merely a matter of extorting the right, connected people, but of commanding enough respect from them to obtain exactly the results they were looking for. Ozai Homura saw this as an art, and it was one he was more than pleased to teach his son, despite he appeared to not have much of a knack for economics and numbers.

That was when two of his closest associates had arrived, however, with that day's puzzling news:

"Takase, that madman supplier, has reached out to us," Zhao said, releasing a heavy breath. "It seems he wishes to serve the Homura clan, despite his many claims in the past that he only wished to work with smaller clans."

Ozai's heart beat fast underneath his old chest burn, the one with which he had proven himself the true heir of Azulon Homura. His own father had chosen to brand him, once Iroh, his older brother, had turned his back on the clan and abandoned the yakuza life. Ozai had been more than ready to inherit the role, no matter how nervous he was about the prospect when it first presented itself. Now, his own son had a burn on his face, one that proved his resilience and strength to their clan. That his eye could still function, despite his face had been burned directly, had been yet another source of pride for his father. He had feared Zuko might not be strong enough for his fated role… but all in all, two potential heirs were better than one.

"What brought about this change of mind?" Ozai said, scowling. "Such a sudden switch must have happened for a reason."

"I thought the same thing," spoke the second newcomer: Ozai turned his attention towards his daughter as she spoke. "I believe it's a play by the Kawakami clan, as a matter of fact. What its ultimate purpose may be remains to be seen, but I advise against trusting this sudden offer of generosity blindly."

It was only natural that she'd have unique, special insight to offer, and yet Ozai's heart surged with pride when Azula intervened: he knew that, when problems emerged, she was ready to resolve them. Wherever his daughter involved herself, everything simply turned out for the Homura clan's favor.

"The Kawakami clan?" Zuko repeated. "They're meaningless though, aren't they?"

"For the time being, they appeared to be," Zhao agreed. "But if they're acting boldly in this manner, perhaps they're seeking to strengthen their position somehow…"

"By losing their suppliers?" Zuko asked. "Don't you think maybe they're just weak, Father? Too weak to even hold onto their providers?"

"I'm afraid we're in no position to make assumptions," Ozai said, frowning. "Leaving lesser clans unchecked can result in dangerous problems in the long run. They may mean no harm, they may be dissolving, but it isn't befitting of the Homura clan to jump at every opportunity for profit all the same."

"It's not how we've carried ourselves over the last five hundred years," Zhao agreed.

"And that we've retained our standards has brought us this far," said Ozai, strongly. "This supplier of arms may not be reliable. He could even serve as an inside source for the Kawakami…"

"I thought of that as well," Azula interjected. "While it could be a fool's move, I can't claim the Kawakami clan's leadership is completely sound of judgment. They might want Takase to serve as an inside source on what's happening within our clan, what movements we've been making. And while a supplier is far from the most reliable source of information, that's precisely why it'd be a useful one: they're counting on us to lower our guard and take for granted they wouldn't be quite so stupid as to spy on us through a weapons' supplier."

"A Trojan horse," Ozai finished. Azula nodded. "Fortunately, we are not quite as gullible as that old civilization was. You shall take point on this, Azula."

"Should she…?" Zuko asked. Ozai raised an eyebrow before turning towards him. "It's only, well…"

"You know what your sister's duty is," Ozai declared. "One day, she will clear the way for you to be a successful clan leader, allowing you to focus your attention on the bigger picture while she removes the competition. She serves as your shield, and your first line of defense. This is no duty for the heir of the Homura clan to perform, but the perfect duty for the Homura clan's enforcer to deal with."

Azula smirked proudly at those words, staring at her brother pointedly. He shrank in his frame, shooting a light glare in her direction: he would have expected his duty as the heir of the Homura family to involve far more action than he'd seen so far. He bore the mark of the heir across his face, no less, making such a painful sacrifice to prove just how worthy he could be… and now he was stuck with what amounted to a desk job, while his sister, with her impeccable face and no burn marks to her name, dealt with the real threats herself.

It wasn't what he would have expected from the yakuza lifestyle, but he couldn't bring himself to protest, not when he knew his father would be cross and displeased if he failed to understand his place in the clan. But watching Azula walk away with that satisfied smirk only brought Zuko to frown further, to wish he could have a different life, one where no one would cast him snide glares, no doubt questioning whether he or his sister were better suited to inherit the great Homura clan…

"Back to your work, Zuko," Ozai said, once he finished speaking with Zhao about any other pending subjects.

Zuko turned again towards the screen, towards the stocks. Towards his studies… away from the complicated, strange times that would soon be brought about by two clans, set into collision by the wishes of their leaders, and by the actions of their respective chosen children…

* * *

The Kawakami headquarters appeared to be a perfectly simple building on the outside – true, with a few burly men standing guard by the doors –, that concealed nothing out of the ordinary behind its walls. It was where Sokka had been raised, and thus, his second home ever since he had moved out and into his master's home, six years ago. Nowadays, he lived in the upper floor of his tattoo parlor, where he spent most his time unless the clan required him for one reason or another. Today, of course, he would keep the parlor closed, despite he longed to return to working with his needles. Priorities were priorities, and no doubt his father would be cross if he disregarded his duties only to continue tattooing green teenagers with no true understanding of what a serious tattoo stood for.

He had been skimming through files in the headquarters' main computer when he heard a ruckus outside. Assuming his sister would handle it, Sokka decided to continue focusing on which other suppliers he could afford to send off to the Homura clan, when suddenly the door to the room was thrown open: Katara marched in, with Kattan beside her.

"Uh… something the matter?" Sokka asked, grimacing preemptively – there was no doubt something had gone wrong, especially going by Kattan's horrified face.

"Sokka, I was… I was on my way to Kuinase, to collect our tax?" he said, swallowing hard. "Two… two huge Homura henchmen were at the doors. I couldn't believe it, Sokka! I ran away before they could see me, but they were definitely Homura! I saw it, you know? That ugly-ass flame tattoo on their necks…"

"You just said… in Kuinase?!" Sokka gasped, jumping to his feet.

"Those bastards are messing with our territory," Katara snarled, looking at her brother intensely. "What are we going to do about it?"

"I…" Sokka gritted his teeth, clenching his fists.

Oh, so much for the damn Homura honor. Was this really how things worked with them? No wonder they were so successful: even offerings in good faith went nowhere with these people. Any clan that so much as attempted to reach out to them would be doomed to be destroyed, for they'd likely, deliberately, interpret such displays as weaknesses rather than as the olive branches they were meant to be. They accepted no competition, was it? No one could go toe-to-toe against them…?

Well, they were in for quite the surprise. He had no intentions of yielding, and if this was how they wanted to play things, he'd step up to their level, for sure.

"I have a plan," Sokka leveled his cold, blue eyes at his sister and Kattan.

* * *

Deep in the heart of Kobe, the Homura headquarters stood inconspicuously as a tall, beautiful skyscraper, masqueraded as a perfectly upstanding company like those that were hosted in the neighboring modern buildings, with glass panels reflecting the sunlight and blinding all passersby during the day. It was a beautiful building, manned by countless elegantly dressed people who wouldn't be out of place in an actual company.

One of them was, of course, Azula Homura. On her casual days, she'd wear a black leather ensemble. Otherwise, her attire was comprised by a perfectly form-fitting pantsuit, with lapels as sharp as the bangs that framed her face, or the eyeliner she applied flawlessly every morning. She was beautiful and daunting: few dared approach her, for few knew what to make of someone as intimidating as her. She seemed to know every member of the clan thoroughly, had been able to sniff out spies within their ranks since her teenage years, and was rumored to have a secret database with all relevant information about their members and their enemies. It sounded like a fantasy, however: how could someone possibly keep track of the largest yakuza clan in the nation so effectively, let alone keep track of other clans, on top of theirs? And of politicians, and of businessmen, too…?

Whoever thought it was a fantasy, however, was severely mistaken: she had eyes and allies everywhere, and she smirked as she sat at her office, a massive room within the tallest floors of the Homura headquarters. She had customized it for her personal use, with a massive screen that displayed the view of many cameras all across Kobe's area. One day, she expected, she might acquire access to more than just the ones from Kobe… but for now, it was enough for her purposes.

For just this had helped her track down a rather curious man on a motorbike, who had just parked outside Hiranuma Shoten. It would have appeared an utterly irrelevant happenstance… if only his very bearing hadn't given away that he, just like herself, was part of a yakuza clan. Only, he had to be from a lesser clan, not only because few clans could afford to be as luxurious as the Homura… but his clothes, his bearing, even his motorbike, revealed he retained a certain humility, despite everything.

She had connected quickly with Hiranuma's internal camera afterwards: she kept an eye on the new arrival, amused by his initial attempts to purchase some food… and then he leaned close to the old man selling meat. Before long, the two were laughing. And then the butcher wasn't laughing anymore.

It was all an intimidation act, masqueraded by captivating the defenseless with promises and honeyed words… an intimidation tactic she herself had stooped to in the past, a tactic she had asked some of her top-trusted advisors to perform recently in the Akashi area, too. But this man… he had a way with it, no doubt. And while Hiranuma's cameras weren't highly defined – she'd have to convince her father to finance better surveillance systems for those under their protection, it would only help in the long run – she had the distinct feeling she knew who this yakuza stranger was…

She bit her lip before inputting her first guess in her database, on the next computer. And while the database was at it…

She dialed a number expertly, without even looking at her phone, before raising it to her ear with her left hand while deftly navigating her resources with her right. Within instants, the man she was calling picked up the phone.

"Yes?"

"Hiranuma Shoten's owner is being extorted by a Kawakami, I believe. Perhaps even the heir, if my guess is accurate," Azula said, shifting through files quickly.

"We'll be there soon," the man on the other side spoke.

"I'll follow him too. You won't lose track of him," Azula promised.

"That would help us very much. We are ever at your service."

She smirked as she hung up the call, and just then, she happened upon the file she had been navigating through. She only had a picture of his face, which was exactly what the camera wouldn't allow her to see… but curses, she had updated this resource and hadn't so much as looked at the Kawakami heir's file so far, had she? Otherwise, she certainly wouldn't have forgotten that damn handsome visage…

"Guess you grew up just fine, did you?" Azula mused, allowing herself a small smirk.

His strong cheekbones, his manly, perfectly defined jawline, that dark skin, typical of the Kawakami's main branch… where so many in Japan preferred light skin, Azula found herself inevitably drawn to the opposite. A whim, she thought, the first times it had happened… but this damn Kawakami was likely to convince her of the opposite.

Though his most striking feature were his eyes: coldly, sharply, beautifully blue. Those were the eyes of a man who, if pushed, could commit a murder without blinking… and where that thought might have daunted anyone else, a yakuza princess, as she was often referred to, could only find that haunted darkness underneath the Kawakami's eyes to be a fascinating thing. If only his clan hadn't been founded over the last hundred years, he'd be under Homura protection instead, and…

… And she wouldn't finish that stupid, pointless thought. Fine, he was attractive, but she wasn't here to daydream over the enemy. Fool that she was.

Her eyes switched to the camera's screen again just when he was saying his goodbyes to a most grateful butcher. Azula snapped her tongue, making a mental note to send word to the man as soon as she had sorted out the Kawakami heir, if it truly was him. She really did hope it was him…

He had to be the one behind the generous giveaway of Takase, just as well. This was, she knew, retaliation for her own retaliation – she had sent henchmen to Akashi, to spread word that the Kawakami were weakened and couldn't afford to protect them anymore, losing suppliers as they were. No doubt that move didn't sit well with her rival, but she couldn't care less: he was playing a game he couldn't afford to win, and she would gladly teach him as much with each of her responses.

She swapped back to the street's camera and watched him climb aboard his motorbike, setting his helmet in place – he was responsible, of course, but he was also a man of style, wearing a helmet worthy of racers rather than a simple, casual, cheap one. It was, perhaps, the least humble element in his apparel. Azula smirked as she switched from camera to camera while following him across the streets: she jotted down the motorbike's plate, and was unsurprised when she found no identifiable bike under those numbers in the Japanese government's databases of legal vehicles. She couldn't help but smile as she continued to follow him, riding along with him, without his awareness.

He finally made a new stop: a yakiniku restaurant, Miyabi. Azula released a breath before redialing, once she confirmed he had entered the restaurant in question.

"He's in Miyabi now. How far away are you?"

"Oh, a change in location? Not to worry. We can be there within the next three minutes."

"Make haste, then. I can follow him as much as necessary, but this is for the community's good, isn't it?" Azula said, sardonically.

"Of course it is," replied the serious man on the other side. She smirked.

"You're never any fun," she said.

"I'm not paid to be fun," was his reply again.

"Not sure you could be, even if you were," she said, releasing a breath. "I'm counting on you, Renkai."

"As you wish."

Again, the communication was interrupted, and again, Azula was free to watch the Kawakami heir, now through Miyabi's better cameras. Yes, this was him, no doubt. His haircut was different nowadays, with that manly shaved undercut, as well as that perfect ponytail – was it called that, in his case? She sported one of her own, though his was shorter than hers – that only enhanced his intimidating factor. He appeared as a modern samurai, Azula guessed… perhaps that was what he fashioned himself as. The idea should sound ridiculous rather than appealing, and yet…

"How you've grown, Sokka," she whispered, biting her lip.

She had met him only on occasion, during yakuza clan meetings, whether those held to solve disputes between other clans, or to strike temporary alliances to destroy those who weren't playing by the rules. He always stuck to his father, just as Azula always stuck to hers. They had met each other's gaze a few times, as they were amongst the only young people in the room, even when they were teenagers… but that had been all. She wasn't sure they had ever exchanged any words, and if they had, she sure had forgotten them. They had only been children back then… now they were fully grown, actual players in this game, ready to make their mark across Hyogo prefecture by any means necessary. He was surely just as ambitious as she was… and that thought was thrilling to her.

Though she wondered if she was giving him too much credit: how would he react, once the inevitable happened? Once the men she had sent after him broke through Miyabi's door, in less than a minute now…

Azula couldn't contain a grin as she saw him growing nervous: was he hearing the sounds of doom? Was he truly so foolish as to assume it wasn't meant for him? He wasn't doing anything harmful, no, of course not, he was innocent… she could see it all in his face, and it was more than laughable. Oh, perhaps she really had been giving him too much credit: the Kawakami could be as attractive as they wished, but they were no match for the full forces of the Homura clan.

The door was thrown open before Sokka had any chance to react: he raised his hands bitterly as the police stepped up, with their blunt weapons at the ready in case he did anything dangerous. Miyabi's owner, an elderly woman, appeared utterly horrified by whatever was happening, but she deflected all blame and pointed to Sokka constantly… that was, of course, the natural behavior of anyone who owed their safety and wellbeing to a yakuza clan. She couldn't be caught dealing with someone from another clan, absolutely not…

Azula laughed and sighed, watching as Renkai, clad in his immaculate, white uniform, dragged Sokka through the doors after shackling his hands. Well, that had been fun, even if her contact within the city police hadn't intended to amuse her…

Yet the stubborn, angry yakuza shot a glare at the nearest camera in the streets, taking her by surprise for it. Had he known he was being followed remotely? Had he noticed, perhaps? Surely not… surely he believed it was just the police's doing. He might not have known the Homura had infiltrated their organization for almost two hundred years… and yet, even through that low-resolution camera, she could sense his bitterness, and she relished in it. A soft chuckle left her lips as she raised an eyebrow defiantly towards his image:

"Well, then… what shall be your next move, Sokka Kawakami?"

* * *

Katara and Kya didn't hold back the judgmental stares once Sokka's fine was fully paid, and he was a free man once again. He scoffed as they walked together, as the sunset ominously promised they'd be in hostile territory by nightfall, but surely they'd be able to find a car to take them to Akashi before long…

"You really are an idiot, picking fights with the Homura like this…" Katara said. Sokka huffed.

"I'm not picking fights! I was trying to be friendly, they gave me the finger figuratively, so I retaliated!" he said. "But they're just… Ugh! How shitty can they be, setting the police on me? That's bad form! That's like… tattling on your sibling when you're a child!"

"Hey! Are you really bringing up our childhood now? You're the one who landed himself in this mess!" Katara scolded him, but Sokka rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Kya groaned and wrapped an arm around each of her children's shoulders, pulling them together and against her body. Even then, Sokka and Katara wouldn't stop scowling at each other.

"What matters most is you're safe now, Sokka. Safe, and soon outside Homura territory," Kya said, smiling at her son. "I know you must be frustrated, dear, but take it easy. Whatever mission your father gave you, surely there's other ways to fulfill it…"

"I wonder about that," Sokka grumbled. "As far as I can tell, I'm simply…"

A light tremor, underneath their feet, stopped Sokka halfway through his rambling. Katara gasped, despite quakes were perfectly common in Japan… for the vibrations were growing stronger, worrisomely so.

"Mom, Katara!" Sokka shouted, wrapping his arms protectively around them as he ran them away from the tallest buildings.

They were lucky to be out in open spaces, but panic flared inside all their chests as the earth's movements continued to shake them to the bone. People were screaming – glass shattered, and even cracks on the floor appeared to spread as the telluric movements continued for what felt like an eternity. Sokka continued to shield both his mother and sister with his body, in case any glass from the buildings around them came crashing down, but they managed to reach a park safely, without any such projectiles falling upon them.

That being said… the vibrations continued, and loud, explosive sounds could be heard across the city. Sokka still held onto both Katara and Kya, who seemed to cower from the rustling earthquake in his chest. He'd protect them… but earthquakes of this magnitude were seldom harmless, and the sounds they could hear in the distance weren't promising. Even before the shaking dwindled, he knew the whole prefecture had sustained a lot of damage… and he knew he wanted to be there to fix as much of it as he could, no matter how difficult it might be.

* * *

It wasn't the worst of all earthquakes, and yet a 7.7 quake was still powerful enough to shake down the foundations of the weakest buildings in Kobe. The damage was difficult to assess at the earliest stages, but the wounded numbered around the hundreds, and the confirmed death toll wouldn't be much lesser than that. News outlets reported on the disaster, as relief efforts seemed to flood the city area, aiding those who had been left homeless, those who had lost everything.

The Homura clan had been safe, for their perfectly modern building hadn't sustained even a single crack to its foundations. The evacuation was quite nerve-wrecking, for many people couldn't possibly stay calm in the face of catastrophes, and their anxiety could prove contagious to those who, under other circumstances, might have handled themselves better. Even Zuko had appeared close to a nervous breakdown for a time, and Azula wished she could stop from being affected by other people's actions or reactions… once she was safely outside, and most the evacuation efforts were finished, she turned to her father, who stood at their building's entrance, surrounded by bodyguards, a stern scowl on his face.

"What… what shall we do?" she asked. Ozai scoffed.

"This will be an economic disaster. Again," he growled. "I'll let you know if I need your assistance."

Azula swallowed hard but lowered her gaze. Well, at least she'd done her job before this tragedy took place. The Kawakami clan would certainly not be much of a problem, though she did wonder quietly, despite her better judgment, if the heir had been released from jail before the earthquake started…

Why did she feel the need to check on that? Maybe she had been enjoying the strange entertainment he provided her with… maybe that was it. But it was no reason to focus on him now, for sure. She didn't know the guy, not truly, and however handsome he might be, his wellbeing was his clan's business, not hers. That's how life worked. That's how it had to be. Yakuza looked after their own, and that was that.

Yet as days passed, and relief efforts became the sole focus of the bulk of the population, unsettling news reached Azula by word of mouth: it seemed a yakuza clan had taken to offering relief, personally, to the victims of the disaster. She received pictures soon, of those men in what in her eyes was outdated yakuza apparel, covered in tattoos, helping hoist debris off buildings. There were even women, also bearing similar tattoos, offering relief in the form of food and shelter to many who were left with none.

And then the helicopter: they had a helicopter. They were scouring the city from above, searching for survivors, sending their people to dig through the worst rubble until they saved as many lives as they possibly could.

She could tell it was them, even before seeing a picture where he, of all people, was featured. A picture of him climbing out of a fallen building, carrying two battered children in his arms, an exhausted expression across his handsome, haggard face. A symbol of hope, of hard work, of strength… all of it, carried across those richly tattooed arms. If she hadn't been floored by the impact of their actions and rescue efforts, her loins might have just taken the wheel to focus, as unnecessarily as ever, on what a powerful man the Kawakami heir had turned out to be.

But there was something far more important than that to worry about. For her father would need to hear about this. And once he did…

"Curse them! Curse those bastards!" growled Ozai, slamming the tablet on his office's marble floors. Azula flinched when the device shattered by her father's violent gesture: Zuko as well recoiled, watching his father warily, in fear of how far his temper would take him this time.

Ozai shook his head as he paced through the room, the shattered tablet forgotten now. Zuko swallowed hard and raised his voice, no matter how daunting his father's wrath might be.

"We should be out there too. If we help…!"

"Silence! I won't even hear of it!" Ozai snapped, turning quickly to shoot a deadly glare at his son. Zuko shrank in place, daunted immediately. "We won't imitate lesser clans! We will find another way to put an end to their ambitions. They've certainly bitten off more than they can chew if they expect they'll ever be allowed to take our clan's place!"

"If I may…" Azula chimed in, and this time Ozai did appear inclined to listen. Yet another blow to Zuko's ego, although this time it didn't seem Azula was about to rejoice for it. "A yakuza clan looks after their own. That is our founding creed."

"What of it?" Ozai said, and his temper appeared poised to rear its ugly visage again.

"I believe we should look after our own, yes," Azula said, swallowing hard, intimidated as well… despite she was certain her plan would appear far more agreeable to her father than her brother's words had been. "You know I keep tabs on all our associated businesses. I suggest we offer monetary relief to those associated with us. While it may not garner our clan the same renown and media attention the Kawakami might attain…"

"It will ascertain they know we haven't forsaken them," Ozai finished. Azula nodded. "And it will prevent them from turning their backs on us, at least."

"I hope so," Azula said. "We do have the funds, don't we?"

"Yes… yes we do," Ozai said, releasing a breath. "Well, then. Perhaps it is time we remind the common folk of how valuable it is to stay on the Homura's good side."

Zuko frowned, glancing at his sister uneasily as they both were dismissed from Ozai's office. With curt bows, the two siblings left together, and Zuko barely waited for the door to be closed before scowling at Azula.

"Why did you suggest that? We're not loan sharks, are we?" Zuko said. "We can't let the Kawakami upstage us…"

"They already have," Azula hissed back. Zuko froze in place. "The Homura family doesn't follow the examples set by others, Zuko. You should know better than to even suggest we do. We're the trailblazers, not them. And if we simply fall in line, right behind a lesser clan, our reputation will be far more damaged than it is already."

"But… those are actual people, in danger, suffering," Zuko told her, as they walked together towards the nearby, modern elevator. Azula scoffed, but Zuko didn't relent. "We can't just toss a check at them and expect it'll all turn out for the better!"

"We'll make wire transfers, much faster and more effective than checks…"

"That's not my point!"

"I know it's not, but I wish it were," Azula hissed, glaring at him. Zuko froze in place. "Keep talking like this, and it won't be long before father decides you're not worthy of your burn mark. You sound like Uncle Iroh."

Zuko gritted his teeth as Azula stepped into the elevator. She didn't wait for him to enter it too before tapping her floor, and Zuko made no efforts to join her as the doors closed. Well, waiting for another elevator ride should give him some time to think, at least.

Truthfully, they had never involved themselves with these disasters beyond looking after their own people. At least, not as far as Azula remembered. She had memorized the clan's history since childhood… and it was impossible to think of any other situation where they had barged into the scene the way the Kawakami had just now, because the Homura simply didn't do that sort of thing. If they ever had, they would've beaten the Kawakami to it already.

Azula sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. What she'd offered Ozai was but damage control… a manner of retaining some power, before the media and the relief efforts of the Kawakami clan stole it all from them. And yet why, even as she made her way to her hi-tech office, was it the only thing she could evoke in her mind was that image of the strong, tall Sokka Kawakami, helping children to safety…?

* * *

"You're not serious, are you? Money? That's what they're doing?" Sokka asked, aghast, staring at Hakoda in chagrin.

And yet Hakoda smiled proudly, patting his strong son's shoulder gently. The whole family was gathered for lunch at one of the relief centers, where they had aided in distributing food to countless homeless people who now looked to them as saviors. They'd need as much help as they could get… but most the ones who had businesses, whether still functioning or not, had already stopped appearing at the Kawakami clan's relief centers. Their absence had bothered Sokka at first… and now it unnerved him, despite it seemed his father was perfectly comfortable with the situation.

"The Homura have offered monetary relief to the people, yes," Hakoda nodded. "And yet not all have taken it. Beyond that, many new faces have turned to us for help: not the Homura, not the government, us. While we have certainly taken a blow to our finances… it's safe to say we're on a good path at the moment, Sokka. You needn't panic, alright?"

"I… I know that, it's just… ugh," Sokka growled, shaking his head. "Every new thing I know about the Homura makes them more despicable. They're so… distant, even with those they're supposed to be protecting. And giving people money when they've lost everything… as if that'd be any good."

"It helps in its own way," Kya acknowledged, sipping her plastic cup's drink slowly. "But it's not the honorable way to proceed, no."

"That's the thing with the Homura. It always has been," Hakoda said. "Honor… it's an important concept for some yakuza: not them, though, no matter if they claim otherwise. Profit drives them, profit and success. And while I did ask you to figure out how to strike an alliance with them, you should never forget that truth, Sokka. Even if they decide to join forces with us, the Homura aren't going to do anything against their interests. They'll always look for profit and advancements. It's not how we should ever conduct ourselves, for sure."

"We won't," Sokka said, stubbornly.

"Why ally ourselves with them anyway?" Katara asked, with a grimace. "Our great-grandfather really should've set up his clan elsewhere. Having the Homura for neighbors is dreadful."

"They could be worse," Hakoda smiled, awkwardly. "But I only want an alliance for the sake of our clan. I don't want them to continue phasing us out. Other clans have joined forces elsewhere in the country, you know? Mainly to hold the fort against other up and coming clans. We could do the same thing with the Homura, and it'd certainly be the strongest alliance in the nation…"

"Now it is. Considering how big we've gotten," said Katara, grinning. "We have a lot of new recruits, begging to join the clan."

"See? It all comes together," said Hakoda, beaming at Sokka. "Don't despair, my boy! Hope is in the horizon!"

Was it, though? Sokka bit his lip but nodded, in surrender.

He didn't return to headquarters with the rest of his family after the food operative was finished. Instead, he took to doing what he'd done since the earthquake: walking across the streets, assessing the damage, pondering how many efforts and resources were needed to fix it. His parlor had been safe, he had checked on the day after the earthquake, but the nearby houses, especially the traditional ones, had sustained plenty of damage, some even torn down completely by the shockwaves. He had helped as best he could in his area, and then proceeded to offer support everywhere his father told him to go, as he organized the relief efforts to the best of the Kawakami clan's ability.

But Hakoda's words about the Homura returned to mind. Sokka sighed as he made his way through the sidewalk across Matsugaoka Park, pondering just how complicated this whole matter of an alliance would be. They didn't share the same values, nor did they work for the same purposes. Ozai Homura had always been known to be a merciless clan boss… meanwhile, Hakoda was the most spirited, good-natured of them all, as far as Sokka could tell. If the Homura were truly this dishonorable, though… was it even worth it to strike a bargain with them?

It could allow them to help more people, Sokka reasoned. The Homura, if they ever let loose with their money, at least just a little, could fund immense community programs of the sorts the Kawakami had never been able to handle themselves. It was a valuable alliance… and not having to fear the Homura henchmen would fight their own on sight was quite a good idea. Not being sent to jail because he was trying to poach their people would be nice, too…

How had they even pulled that off, for starters? He had heard the Homura kept an eye everywhere, on everything… he frowned, blinking at a contraption not far from where he walked: traffic cameras. There had been one near Miyabi, too. While those surely were connected with the government, there were far more cameras on this street's surveilance contraption than the strictly necessary, weren't there? He scowled, hands on his hips, as he stopped to stare at them: some were aimed towards the sidewalks, not exclusively the street. It wasn't that the government was too cheap to do this… but six cameras in the same place? Excessive… and perhaps meaningful.

Was this what the Homura did? They surveilled the whole city through an immense camera circuit? Were they setting up their own devices, or were they working covertly with the government and the police…? Both possibilities were there. But he guessed, as he stared at the camera aimed at him, that he could send a message to the Homura all the same: an alliance should be struck, as Hakoda had asked of him. An alliance that should prove favorable to both clans, an offering of something the Homura lacked… the Homura, who had everything in the world, as far as everyone know.

Everything but one thing, come to think of it. Sokka stroked his chin, pondering Kattan's words, and his own knowledge of Homura henchmen, before making up his mind about what the next move should be.

He returned to headquarters quickly, rather than heading home: the one man he had to find, the one he was looking for, happened to be there, waiting to meet with him.

"I was rejected!" Takase declared, throwing his hands in the air. "Sorry, but you can't get rid of me that easily. That's just how it is."

"I see," Sokka chuckled. "Well, it's good to have you back. Though I'm surprised they rejected you so boldly, huh? One would think they'd know better than to toss away a great asset like yourself."

"And quite the asset I am, too, but if they don't know my worth, it ain't my business," declared Takase.

"Good, though… can I ask, who did you meet while they deliberated on whether to work with you or not?" Sokka said. "Was it goons, or were there any higher-ups in there…?"

"Eh? Two higher-ups, actually. They can't have goons deciding on hiring a bigshot like me, eh?" said Takase. "The first one… he had those ear whiskers, you know? Them bug fuzzy hair right past the ears…"

"Mutton chops? Sideburns?" Sokka asked, with an awkward smile.

"There, there! That's the thing!"

"Then Zhao Homura," Sokka hissed. "And the other?"

"Eh, some girl. Probably a little younger than you… your sister's age, maybe? But it looked like she was the boss instead. I didn't catch her name, but it felt like… like she was a razor, somehow? You know? I thought to offer to design a razor for her, but then she cut me down, so I thought – does she even need one? Heck no!"

"Was she… dark-haired?" Sokka asked. "Fair skin? Maybe gold eyes?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, all that," said Takase, nodding. "She was dressed all fancy too. You know… maybe she's the Homura daughter! Ha! I hadn't even thought of it, but it's got to be her…"

"It's got to be her, alright," Sokka smiled slowly, the gears turning gradually in his mind.

It did make perfect sense… she was, after all, rumored to be the true strength that held the Homura together. She was seldom seen unless it was necessary, and her private life was, in all likelihood, as private as it could get. Sokka couldn't even remember the last time he had seen her in person… surely they had still been as good as children. But that was then, and this was now: he needed to contact her, and to settle their dispute in the smoothest way possible.

The best means through which to achieve that, however, was none other than his top-of-the-line, networking sister: Katara was happy to see him, as ever… and utterly confused when he voiced his request.

"You want me to tell you everything I know about Azula Homura?" she repeated. "Well… damn, not much. She keeps to herself? Some people say she's obsessed with her work, and the whole reason the Homura clan is even succeeding despite the massive loss of members they had after the previous heir abandoned? You remember that story, right?"

"Right, the heir who defected and ran away to Korea?" Sokka said, nodding. "His son was killed or something, wasn't that it?"

"I think so," Katara answered. "No idea if Azula Homura has an heir burn, if that's what you wanted to know…"

"I doubt it," Sokka said, with an awkward grin. "But… do you think you know people who know her?"

"I think I could reach her, if you need me to?" Katara said, eyeing him warily. "Why? If you want an arranged marriage you could ask for something a little less outlandish…?"

"I wasn't going to ask for… hey. Hey, now, that's not the worst idea," Sokka reasoned, smirking as he prodded his stubble with his thumb. Katara huffed, rolling her eyes.

"I bet this is all over dad's request to help him ally with the Homura… well, whatever!" she said. "I'll see what I can do, I'll try to get her a message. But just so you know…"

"I owe you, big time, yep," Sokka grinned. "I'll design a great tattoo for you!"

"You'd better," Katara huffed, smiling at her brother: she wasn't quite as covered in tattoos as he was, but she already sported a few of her brother's creations on her arms. Maybe one on her ankle wouldn't be a bad idea…

Sokka returned shortly afterwards with the message he needed to convey. And Katara took to unraveling the network through which she'd bring it to the Homura princess, a far more complicated feat than she expected it to be.

The key to the plan was a perfectly discreet locale, a classy bar behind a beautiful brown door, in a small building. Shiori had often been a location suited for casual encounters between low-ranked clan members of any yakuza family, and as it happened, the most common visitors were the henchmen of the Homura clan. Katara found the right person to whom she could ask to slip the note to any Homura who appeared capable enough to act on it: the karaoke room within the building was where the exchange took place, where a young man of the Kawakami took to any and all extremes to convince a mature Homura woman to see to it that Sokka's message was conveyed successfully.

The message was then passed from Homura hand to Homura hand, until finally it reached the destination it sought, when a tall Homura goon had knocked on Azula's door, gesturing at a small leaflet in his hand.

"Seems like you've got a message. Nothing harmful in it, I checked, but… might useful, I dunno," said the goon, handing the message to the heir's daughter. Her eyes narrowed as she snagged the paper from his hand… and her heart, so tempered and evenly paced, suddenly raced upon reading the contents of the message.

_Got a business proposal for you. Check your logs, Meimai Central, 12/6: Matsugaoka Park on 15/6, at 7. I'll make it worth your while._

Her chest tightened as she read those words. Someone had unraveled the rather obvious truth – that she could see through the cameras all across the city. And that person had a business proposal for her: even before dismissing the goon, and searching through her camera logs, she knew who she'd find in the video registry… and her heart nearly skipped a beat when she saw him, staring directly into the camera, waving, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive and definitely inappropriate manner.

A business proposal… well, she could hear him out. She should, if anything: if she found any weaknesses worth exploiting, she'd tear the Kawakami down and protect the interests of the Homura. That was what she'd do, what she'd always been meant to do…

Though, if she took a light detour before getting there, in case the Kawakami heir was interested, she wouldn't complain one bit.

* * *

Sokka breathed out slowly as he stepped off the sidewalk. The street was fortunately empty… or perhaps not quite that fortunately, really. Surely the Homura princess had set up some sort of forcible detour for cars to ensure the encounter between them would have perfect privacy… and perfect surveillance by her people. He released a breath as he entered Matsugaoka park's premises, sensing a thousand eyes upon himself… knowing there might as well be a thousand. There was no way she would attend this meeting without the thickest, sturdiest security detail ever.

He breathed out as he paced inside the park, searching with his gaze until his eyes finally landed upon a human silhouette, standing amidst the trees, under a lamppost with unsteady, blinking brightness.

He started on his way towards her as quietly as possible, assessing the enemy – or the ally-to-be, if all went well – as thoroughly as he dared. And there was plenty to assess, too: she had decided to wear a leather ensemble for this encounter, apparel worthy of a biker, Sokka thought to himself, but where it could have looked ridiculous in anyone else, it was breathtaking in a woman of her figure. Her long, dark, flowing hair played in the breeze, held up in a long ponytail that exposed her nape frequently, if the wind blew her strands in the right direction.

Even now, when looking at her from behind – and enjoying thoroughly the sight of her rear's curves, goodness, how dared she dress in leather when she already had a killer body? – his whole system jolted with anticipation. Chances to interact with other clans were sparse, and they never ever sent anyone who looked remotely as good as Azula Homura did… though Sokka hoped, despite he knew it was stupid, that her face wouldn't be all that pretty. If it was, he'd be a goner, so if just that…

"That's far enough," spoke a strong, feminine voice: her voice. His body shivered involuntarily, as he halted on his spot, obeying her immediately.

She turned then, and all his hopes shattered altogether: she was gorgeous. Everything about her was impossibly appealing, to the point his damn body appeared to be reacting to the Homura's presence as it pleased. No, there was no reason to be aroused, not when she would only be here with very strict purposes in mind…

"You're awfully relaxed, aren't you?" Azula Homura asked. Sokka swallowed hard but smirked.

"If your sharpshooters take me down now… well, can't say I'd ever hoped to get a better view than this, in my final moments," he said.

"How terribly corny," said Azula, rolling her eyes. "Does that sort of line work with all the girls you meet?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I said I don't usually attempt to meet up with girls who have hundreds of sharpshooters aiming at me, would you?" he said. To his delight, she smiled.

"Your dating life must be boring, if so," she said. He smirked.

"Has been, so far. Are you feeling bad for me, all of sudden?" he inquired, casually. Azula scoffed, though she still smiled.

"Not quite. I'm amused, if anything," she said. "But I'd assume you didn't ask me to come here just because you wanted to swap our dating histories, did you? I could've simply sent you a summary of mine if you'd asked…"

"Right. And I'm sure you've already looked through mine?" he said, smirking. "Seems like you know everything going on in this city."

"And I thought the Kawakami were relegated to southern Akashi, hence, not in this city," Azula said, raising her eyebrows. "Or is it that you're here to sell Kawakami territory to us? Want me to keep watch over your city, too?"

"Want to keep watch over it?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows. Azula's amusement receded. "Look… you're smart. Smarter than anyone else in the Homura clan. Surely the thought has occurred to you, right? We Kawakami are a pointless, boring rock in your fancy Homura shoe. We get in the way of your business, whether intentionally or not, because we took office way too close to your domains. And where you guys probably think the best solution is to snuff us out… I think there's a much more peaceful solution we can consider."

"And what's that?" Azula asked, with a sardonic smile.

"An alliance," Sokka said. Unsurprisingly, Azula scoffed.

"What do we have to gain by allying with you? What would the Kawakami offer the Homura that we lack? This is what you and your father have been after? The reason you gave us Takase, the reason you started to defy us by attempting to steal our people…"

"Hey, now, you started it!" Sokka pouted. Azula, despite herself, smiled.

"You're childish. And only a childish man would make a suggestion as outlandish as this one," she said, simply. "I should have the sharpshooters shoot you indeed for all this nonsense…"

"Don't know if you should do that," Sokka said, smiling. "Your defenses are within the park, aren't they? Well… I may have posed a few friends in the nearby buildings just as well. I made an educated guess regarding where you'd position yours, offered my own sharpshooters the possible locations for your henchmen…"

"So you're saying, if mine shoot you, yours will shoot them… you'd die, then my henchmen die, then I make myself scarce and I survive while you don't?" she said, smirking. Sokka chuckled and shook his head.

"You can't be sure you'll get away so easily," he said.

"Oh, what makes you think that?" she asked, amused again. "You expect I won't know these territories as thoroughly as I please, Kawakami?"

"I expect, rather, that you'd be amenable to discussing business instead of jumping for the kill right away," he said, raising an eyebrow. "I know you've been watching me for a while, hell knows just how far your reach goes. You know I didn't come alone either, much like you didn't. So… how about we have our perfectly normal business exchange, and if you think my idea is worthless, you let me know, and we'll go our separate ways without causing any deaths that might result in a massive clan war?"

"Hmm… wouldn't be massive. The Homura outnumber your clan by tenfold, at least," said Azula, with a sardonic grin. Sokka rolled his eyes but smiled.

"My point still stands. You don't want to cause more trouble for the Homura by killing me when I'm only here for business," he said, raising his hands.

"Indeed, the business of an alliance that doesn't appear to offer much in the way of benefits to the Homura clan," said Azula, haughtily. "Why do I need to ally with you, Sokka Kawakami?"

"You don't need to, that's the truth. Neither do we need to be allied with you," he conceded. "But the Kyoshi clan down south was faltering, and after striking an alliance with the Tsuchiya clan, they've both thrived and resurged as leading clans. I'm not saying the Homura need an alliance to stay solid in their position as the biggest clan in the nation… but surely you guys don't want the others to catch up to you, right?"

"Surely," Azula repeated, tapping her arm with a finger. "All that being said… the Homura clan doesn't quite need to associate with a lesser clan to rise in prominence. There's parts of Asia that outright don't know what the word "yakuza" stands for, but tremble in fear upon hearing the family name "Homura". There have been movies about us, documentaries, we have contacts that the rest of the clans wish they could attain… and you think your clan would be our most favorable alliance possible? Why?"

"I suppose the geopolitical angle doesn't interest you much?" Sokka said. "Having freedom to go in and out of Akashi… I'd argue, of course, that the terms of the alliance should make it so we retain jurisdiction in our cities and territories, but the other clan has freedom of passage and occasional operations – with previously granted permission – in the area. We could even settle on a fee of a sort, a percentage of money gained from operations that we'd offer you, you could do the same for us…"

"Sounds counterproductive," said Azula. Sokka chuckled.

"Right, right, it's easier to kill off the Kawakami, isn't it? But see, there is one thing our clan can offer yours, one thing you really could use…" he smirked, stepping closer to her. "Something you have been missing for, well, I don't know how many years? Something I guess you guys disregarded as irrelevant, going by how your people are always dressed in fancy, full-body suits, these days…"

"What… are you getting at?" Azula said, despite her better sense already suspected what his point would be. Sokka smirked.

"You don't have a proper _tebori_ artist anymore, do you?" he said. She couldn't hide the irritation that crossed her face. "Haven't had one for a very long time. Your people? If they have any tattoos, it's some ridiculous-looking little flame, probably made with western technique…"

"The fools who have tattooed themselves with that thing have been reprimanded, and others discouraged from following their example," Azula snapped. Sokka's grin only gained further mischief. "That being said, how exactly does the Kawakami clan wind up obtaining a rare, _tebori_ artist where the Homura clan couldn't find any to replace the old master we lost about twenty years ago?"

"Why… we have our secrets, you have yours," Sokka shrugged. Azula scoffed.

"I question your words. Perhaps you don't have one at all, and you're pulling my hair," she said. Sokka snorted.

"Alright… this won't look good, but please, don't order your men to shoot me for it," he said, raising his hands defensively… before pulling open his jacket.

The t-shirt he wore underneath it wrapped around his muscular body, despite it wasn't meant to be tight. His chest appeared large, even while hidden beneath another layer of fabric… and his arms were rather thick, with tense muscles that shifted in an entrancing way as Sokka set down his jacket and made to remove his t-shirt next.

Azula's jaw threatened to drop, but she ensured not to show how badly this particular, shameless display of her opponent was affecting her. Oh, that body… the more he exposed it, the more she feared she'd make a fool of herself, jumping to devour him in the eyes of all the sharpshooters they both had brought with them to this park. Ugh, she was a fool for wishing she had taken no precautions, but the gradually exposed body before her, each tense muscle, each ridge of his abs and pectorals, were tugging through all her many layers of powerful self-control, urging her to act on her impulses for once instead of holding back for appearances' sake…

She had forgotten the purpose of his disrobing once the t-shirt was fully removed, but he hadn't: he gestured at the shapes over his shoulders, spreading into his bare chest.

"You can tell, can't you? They're actual _tebori_ ," he said. "I applied these myself."

"You… what?" Azula gasped, staring at him in genuine astonishment. Sokka grinned.

"Let it be known that I have the self-control and pain-threshold to pull off art on my own body without mucking it up," he smirked. "I've been tattooing many of the Kawakami ever since my master decided I was ready. Most prefer koi tattoos in our clan, but I… I liked the wolf. It's fierce, and it protects the pack. I like to think of myself as one, obnoxious as it sounds…"

Well, a man with that body had every right to be as obnoxious as he pleased, as far as Azula was concerned. Twin wolves stood at each of his shoulders, their jaws open threateningly, claws and fangs beared, and they lunged downwards into Sokka's pectorals, right above his nipples. It wasn't all though: waves appeared to spread across underneath the wolves, across his abdomen, perhaps even over his back…

"And you expect me to think… you tattooed your own back?" she asked, skeptical. Sokka chuckled.

"Yeah, that one I couldn't do myself. My old master actually started the back tattoo for me," Sokka explained, turning around and gesturing at the design: Azula nearly gasped, for the pattern of the sea merged into yet another wolf shape, one that appeared ready to pounce, right across his spine. "I told him what I had in mind, he started from there, told me I'd only be allowed to start tattooing my clansmen if I succeeded at tattooing myself. And I did."

"You… did. I suppose. Though… I don't know if I believe you yet," said Azula, raising her eyebrows. "You claim you can do _tebori_ , but you alone have tattooed all the Kawakami? Just one man wouldn't suffice for our clan."

"I'm not the only one, no," Sokka smiled. "Though I'm one of the best, for sure. My master might agree to tattoo a few of your people, as long as you all ask nicely. There's about three more of his apprentices within our ranks, the third is still pretty green but the others are good enough. Of course, it'll take a while… but your clan can go right back to bearing amazing tattoos that will instill fear in the hearts of the enemy, eh? Instead of inspiring laughter, like that silly flame does…"

"Be that as it may, we haven't needed tattoos for that purpose for a while" Azula said… though her tone suggested she saw actual value in this proposal, if nothing else.

"Not like they'd hurt, eh? Well, figuratively anyway," said Sokka, smiling as he pulled his shirt on again, and while Azula didn't quite want to stop watching his bare body, even the visual of him dressing up proved a most stimulating. "It's a big tradition for yakuza, always has been. Surely your dad will want to hear of this offer, at least? If he says no, fine, I'll accept my defeat. If he says yes…"

"He won't say either no or yes until I've decided your offer and your apparent skills are trustworthy," Azula declared, stubbornly. Sokka blinked blankly. "By which I mean… if you agree to tattoo one member of our clan as an example of what you can do, and you prove successful, I'll discuss your alliance proposal and possibilities with my father. If I can interest him in this arrangement, you may meet directly with him – though I suppose it'd be more agreeable if your father were the one to meet him and settle the alliance. Still… first of all, I'll have to be sure you're not pulling our hair."

"Heh. Seems fair," Sokka nodded. "Alright, then. I guess I'll give you the location of my parlor, in a show of good faith… send your clan member tomorrow? If it's a full-body tattoo, though, this could take a while."

"How long is 'a while'?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. "Pardon my ignorance, but I haven't really had to worry about the logistics of _tebori_ tattoos for as long as I've been working actively in the Homura clan."

"Well, depends on the difficulty. But sessions could even span months, if it's too tricky," Sokka admitted. Azula scowled.

"How do you plan on tattooing all our people if it takes months?" she asked.

"It doesn't always take that long, but I'd think you'd know better than to expect this for all your people?" Sokka laughed. "I'd think the bigger fish are the ones who ought to have the _tebori_ , if they want them, of course. You could even make it a matter of a reward: if they do their jobs well, they'll be eligible for tattoos with us. See?"

"I see," said Azula, raising her eyebrows. "Well, then… I'll contact you for the address tomorrow."

"I guess you can get my number, just like that?" Sokka asked, amused.

"Buy yourself a burner phone, if you don't trust me," she said, smiling too. "There's a store nearby, you can find one there. I'll get the number out of the owner, and contact you through a burner of my own."

"Seems fair," Sokka smiled. "Well, then… we're in temporary business, for now?"

"Making it a permanent deal shall hinge on your skills, above all else," Azula raised her head haughtily. "For the time being, I'll expect your people to stay in their lane, and I'll make sure mine stay in ours, without causing any problems for either clan until this matter of a potential alliance is either confirmed or completely dismissed."

"Seems a great idea to me," Sokka said, nodding.

"Good to know you agree to these terms," Azula replied. "Continue this way, and your pet project might have a better chance at succeeding. Anyway, feel free to take your leave first."

"As you'd have it," he said.

She didn't ignore that he started walking backwards… while allowing his eyes to take in her body shape in a rather careless, lecherous manner. Her blood burned underneath her skin… and not quite because of outrage. She knew those looks… she hoped he knew them too, for she had been casting them in his direction from the moment she had seen him. Was he merely taking her in as best he could right now, in fear they might never meet again? If so…

When he turned, her eyes strayed towards his rear, settling there, admiring their perfect curves until the shroud of darkness hid his whole body away from her own, lascivious gaze. Azula smiled, despite herself, once he was gone, and once she suspected the many weapons aimed towards the location of their conversation had been withdrawn and put aside. His business proposal had been slightly more interesting than she had expected, and suddenly she wasn't quite so determined to take down the Kawakami completely as she had been before… but she would test his resolve further soon. Just how far was he willing to go to score this alliance with the Homura clan…?

* * *

"You truly believe this is worth pursuing?" Ozai asked, frowning, once Azula met with him in private on the next morning. "An alliance, with the Kawakami clan?"

"For the sake of the _tebori_ , it may be," said Azula, breathing out slowly. "I understand your reluctance, but it is true that allying with a clan, however lesser it may be, could bring advantages in the long run. We could, presumably, manipulate the Kawakami freely if this alliance is arranged. They'll expect to gain a rise in power, by joining forces with us…"

"Not knowing we're the ones assimilating them, without their awareness?" Ozai finished. Azula shrugged.

"It's a possibility. Though Hakoda Kawakami might be wiser than we expected," Azula conceded. "He might not make it easy for the alliance to be corrupted for our benefit, but it's probably safer to have the Kawakami close by if we intend to ensure their growth doesn't go out of control after the events following the earthquake."

"It's a dangerous game… and unfortunately, we cannot simply poach the _tebori_ artist from them, considering it's the heir," said Ozai, rolling his eyes. "The others might be fair game, but I question he would ever betray his people."

"He likened himself with a wolf," Azula said, hoping the blood wouldn't rush to her cheeks as she remembered the impossibly alluring tattoos decorating that man's powerful body. "Said he protected his pack. So… yes, corrupting him may not be easy."

"You might as well try," Ozai said. "Every man has a price, as far as I'm aware. If we can plant discord within their ranks, it'll serve for our benefit too. So… perhaps the alliance isn't the worst idea. Though you'll have to assess if the risks outweigh the possible benefits, Azula: in this case, we've lived fine without tattoos for the last years. If the potential improvements for our circumstances aren't considerable, I wouldn't go forth with this venture."

"I agree, completely," Azula said, nodding curtly. "I shall let you know what the test's results are."

"Very well," Ozai nodded, dismissing Azula.

Her next step was simple enough to perform, once she returned to her office: she searched through her database quickly, tracking down the cellphone store where Sokka had bought his burner. After a quick call, she had the number, and had ordered a phone of her own. It might be awfully inconvenient, she couldn't deny it, having a single phone to communicate with a single person… but once the messenger she sent to retrieve the package had returned with her new device, her heart was racing with excitement.

* * *

Sokka didn't think it was a good idea to sit at his parlor all day, waiting for a message to arrive, and yet that was exactly what he did. Business was slow now – who would prioritize getting a tattoo after the earthquake's devastation, really? – but he left the open sign on the door, despite knowing he'd have to turn it around as soon as Azula's chosen Homura arrived. Sokka had gone through his designs carefully, making sure to evoke the images he'd need to keep in mind, the technique, the patience… he was ready. He could do this, especially when the rise of his clan might as well depend on his performance now.

The phone rang with its new, custom beat – he had been bored enough to scour through the libraries of the device until he found one that suited him. He opened the message quickly, and smiled upon reading Azula's curt, blunt message: _Send the address now._

He decided to save the number immediately, though he hesitated at which name to give the contact. Obviously, using her real name was beside the question… he smirked upon jotting down 'My Flame', and he wondered if she'd approve of it. He thought she'd liked what she'd seen yesterday… perhaps he should try to flirt some more and see if that would get them somewhere. If the alliance failed, well… sleeping with the enemy could make this whole ordeal worthwhile, regardless.

He answered the message just as directly, hoping to appear professional despite his previous, shameless attitude while picking her contact name. He wondered, briefly, if she had given him a nickname of her own… would it be an embarrassing one? Or also a teasing, flirty one? He'd love it if it were the latter…

After around fifteen minutes, the sound of a motorbike alerted him that someone was approaching. The area had been quite silent lately, but it wouldn't stay that way forever. Still, it was an extra layer of privacy that would enable him to tattoo a Homura without worrying about prying eyes, misunderstandings or rushed judgments…

The bike stopped right at before the parlor, and the rider climbed off. Sokka could see the person's silhouette through the darkened glass panels of his parlor… and he frowned lightly upon noticing the outfit wrapped around an undoubtably female body appeared to be of leather. Much like Azula's chosen attire from the previous night.

His heart nearly stopped before she pushed the door open while removing the bike's helmet: his jaw dropped, for she had come alone. She hadn't brought anyone. Which meant…

"W-wait…" he chortled, jumping off the chair he'd been sitting at. Azula slid a hand over her hair, taming it again after the previous bike ride.

"Do you have other customers? Why do I have to wait?" she asked, with a light grin.

He couldn't seem to snap out of his disbelieving amazement. He swallowed hard and stood up straight, puzzled, utterly confused… here he had been, pondering how to coax her into a new date, and she had come to him of her own volition?

"I… I'm a bit surprised, is all. You want me to tattoo you?" he asked.

"Is it the Kawakami don't tattoo their women?" Azula asked. Sokka swallowed.

"The Kawakami do a lot of things different from the Homura. I mean… my mom and my sister are part of the group, but they're not really part of the operations? Not the big ones? If that makes sense, though I've tattooed my sister's arms because she asked a few months ago… b-but that's not it!" Sokka said, looking at her with uncertainty. "You're sure you want to do this? I thought you didn't trust me."

"And why would I trust you to tattoo one of my men without making sure, personally, that you can handle the job?" Azula smirked, stepping closer. "Are you afraid of something?"

"I… no, not at all. Just… I really expected to tattoo a guy," Sokka smiled, biting his lip. "Not complaining, though, not complaining. But… well, you do realize, like I told you, this will be a long process, depending on what you want? You might have to come back a few times to get the whole thing finished, unless you wanted something small…?"

"Do I look like someone who would have a small venture in mind?" Azula asked, amused. Sokka swallowed hard but grinned. "I have an idea in mind, yes: a dragon, naturally. In a field of flames."

"Oh. Heh, well, that can be done, for sure," Sokka said, nodding positively. "How big? A sleeve, or…?"

"Hmm…" Azula tapped her chin, in deep thought as Sokka stepped towards the door: he spun the "Open" sign upon itself, and Azula smirked for it. She had him for herself now, then… all his attention would be on her body. Whatever the result might be, she couldn't quite help but rejoice in that awareness. "I think I want something quite dynamic, actually."

"Just how dynamic?" Sokka asked, curious, as he turned towards her again.

"I want this dragon across my back… shifting across it, as it may?" Azula said. Sokka raised his eyebrows appreciatively as he made his way to his desk.

"Let's see…" he said, quickly drawing the outline of a female body on a free sheet of paper.

Azula watched with curiosity as he jotted down lines expertly. She rested her body weight against the desk, and Sokka continued to sketch while keenly aware of her closeness, as well as her gaze upon him.

"How's this?" he asked. Azula hummed as she studied the design.

"Not enough, actually," she said. Sokka bit his lip. "Not that it's wrong, just… I'm looking for something slightly more complicated. Like… ah, how about if the dragon's tail starts at the base of my nake, but the body… wraps around mine? I mean, if it hugs my flank, then goes across my front…?"

"U-uh… wow," Sokka blinked blankly, but he attempted another sketch… this time of the front of her body. He hesitated at drawing her breasts, at which Azula smirked knowingly. "Well, um… sorry to be bold, but how big exactly are they?"

"Need that much information for a full design?" she asked. He grinned guiltily.

"Alright, let's just say… the dragon's body goes over your ribcage, on either side?" he said. "And below your breasts…?"

"Hmm. I guess tattooing them could be tricky," Azula reasoned, with a voice that attempted to convey an innocence she clearly lacked. Sokka bit his lip but smirked.

"I'll be blunt: I've never done that before," he laughed softly. "I figured it'd be more comfortable if it's just… around them? But you're the boss right now. You tell me."

"Hmm? So Kawakami women don't get _tebori_ that often?" Azula asked, smirking.

"Not quite?" Sokka grinned awkwardly. "I'm not too popular yet anyways, I've only tattooed my sister with a few small designs, and… well, it is Japan, tattoos are usually frowned upon. Most my latest customers have been teenage nerds trying to look intimidating before starting college?"

"Such upstanding customers for the Kawakami heir," Azula said mockingly. Sokka snorted and laughed, his shoulders shaking with each chuckle as he lowered his head. Strangely bashful, and just so, incredibly charming…

"See why I want to tattoo your goons now?" he said. "Though… got to say, I'm not sure any of my next customers will be much to write home about after you."

"Intended to write about me, did you?" Azula smirked. "Would your family appreciate hearing about the outlandish challenges I keep forcing upon you?"

"Eh… my dad would laugh a lot," Sokka chuckled, as he continued to doodle across his new sketches. "Though you'd better be careful, eh? Don't be too impressive, or he'll start pondering other ways to establish an alliance between our clans…"

"Other ways? Such as?" Azula asked, deliberately playing dumb. Sokka stopped sketching, snorting before shooting her a meaningful stare. "What?"

"You're way too smart not to know what," he said, simply. She smirked.

"Can't say my father would agree with that notion," she said.

"Exactly. So… you know, better for us not to get any hopes up, right?" he said, with a nonchalant shrug as he returned to his design.

"Hopes? You'd actually hope for it? How ambitious of you…" Azula said, shaking her head reproachfully.

"Might not be a matter of ambition, Homura Princess…" he whispered. She shivered upon hearing him speak that nickname. "There's other reasons to marry someone besides social advancement…"

"Hmm? And what other reason could you possibly have to marry me?" she asked. Sokka smiled slowly and tapped his sketch.

"How's this one?" he asked.

Azula clicked her tongue disapprovingly, shooting him a long, meaningful, stare before turning to the paper.

"Cowardice doesn't befit you…" she said, though she froze upon glimpsing the new design: the dragon's body would slither across her collarbone and shoulders, dipping down the valley of her breasts, hugging the outline of the right before dipping down to her belly and rising again to hug the left before scurrying towards the back.

"I'm thinking… do you want claws?" he said. "Could be I could fit them… over here? Above your breasts…?"

Azula shivered at the suggestion, as he drew the lines to depict what he meant. Well, curses, she had thought he was evading the question, but he might have just intended to answer it with his artwork instead…

"It'll loop across your abdomen a couple more times, I think? And then it goes to the back," Sokka said, gesturing at the initial artwork. "Menacing snarling dragon, right? Any guy who gets you naked will think twice before doing anything out of bounds this way…"

"Sounds like a plan," Azula smirked. "You'll be the first victim of the dragon, if so, because you'll be drawing it. You'll have to tell me if it's truly that daunting."

"I'll make it as scary as I can," Sokka smiled. "So… is this good? Or do you want another attempt?"

"I… think I'd like to see the idea in a much more solid way before pushing through with this design," Azula said, biting her lip. "Do you make stencils? Or…"

"Not quite stencils, I usually draw an outline on the body," Sokka explained. "The initial outline, then I go forward with the inking of the outline, but… it's true it's probably better if you have an initial glimpse of what I've got in mind. You, uh… are comfortable with letting me doodle a mean dragon over your naked body?"

"Comfortable?" Azula repeated, raising her eyebrows. "Why… not quite. Not while we're in plain view of the street, despite those darkened glass panes of yours…"

"I wouldn't have worked with you up here," Sokka laughed, rising to his feet. "Come on. Step into my basement, why don't you?"

"You'd better not have a full regiment of nasty Kawakami goons down there, ready to eviscerate me…" Azula said, raising her head haughtily as she followed Sokka to the stairs.

He laughed again at her words as he opened the door that led to the basement, and she found she was growing quite fond of that sound… at least, her stirring lower belly was. Surely there wouldn't be a regiment of Kawakami down there, but she certainly hoped the only Kawakami within the area would be willing to do something other than just tattooing, once they were in private…

It wasn't every day she found herself so attracted by a man, let alone was it every day that she felt the urge to act upon it, let alone so boldly. Her plans for the design were a most deliberate, reckless attempt to seduce him… and she sure hoped it worked. So far, it looked like it would, but she couldn't take anything for granted…

The study downstairs was rather orderly, once Sokka flipped the light switch and revealed it before Azula's gaze. The shelves, the tattooing implements sitting in their right cases, the already-mixed inks, as well as the ingredients to mix new ones… all of it appeared angled towards the modern tattoo chair, out of place among so many traditional tools. Azula finally reached the last step, taking in the location in full, but her gaze inevitably fell upon the chair: leather, adjustable, hopefully comfortable and stable. Good.

"Alright, then… we won't be working with the proper needles yet. A painless process to begin with… then comes the true challenge," Sokka said, smiling at her. "So… mind disrobing for me, Homura Princess?"

That he dared wink at her should have been outrageous… but her whole body felt like melting chocolate because of it. Her heart skipped a beat most delightfully, and she smiled before loosening her jacket first. Sokka smiled at her, making his way to his shelves to collect the tools with which he'd start the sketches of the outline, but he dared glance at Azula again as she clasped the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head with one smooth movement: her pelvis tucked in lightly over the movement, her ribcage highlighted, as well as her abdomen's lean muscles. She got plenty of exercise, he realized, despite she kept such tight surveillance of the whole city… She was a true wonder, Sokka thought, snatching three different skin markers from his collection, and he didn't tear his eyes off her… not even when she tugged her belt loose and pushed down her trousers.

"W-woah…" he said, unable to hold back his smile. Azula blinked blankly in his direction. "Not that I don't appreciate those fine legs of yours… but I didn't sketch for anything in your lower body"

"You mentioned claws…" Azula said, casually. "I thought, curiously, that you probably could have the dragon's front paws over… here?"

She turned, deliberately squeezing her ass cheeks together while trailing her hands suggestively over them. Sokka's eyes damn near bulged, and he swallowed dryly as Azula gazed at him inquisitively.

"Y-you… have amazing ideas," he finally decided. Azula's knowing grin spread widely over her face.

"Thought you might appreciate that one," she said, reaching up her back to tug loose her bra.

Sokka damn near cursed himself as he tore his gaze away from her back: fool. He couldn't just tell her to turn so he could see her better. No matter if the Homura Princess had come here for many purposes beyond just getting a tattoo, he couldn't succumb to such stupid impulses. He had to play by her rules, and even if he did, he might wind up landing himself in a world of trouble. If he dared touch her, even if with her consent, she could easily turn things around and use that to her advantage to destroy the alliance before it was even formed… ugh, he kind of wanted to do it despite that risk, but he knew he needed to be cautious, to think things through. And wanting to see her breasts wasn't at all the cautious way to proceed…

But he'd see them anyway, he knew, as he heard her walking towards the chair. She snapped her tongue somewhat dismissively, and Sokka released a breath before turning to find her back to him again… she was fully naked now. No underwear, no socks, nothing. Only her ponytail remained in place, though after she had disrobed, it appeared to be falling loose: she noticed, and undid it quickly. Her hair fell in an elegant curtain across the back he'd soon tattoo, just before she pulled it together again and redid the ponytail. With her arms raised, he could see the outline of her breasts and… dammit! He had to stop!

Though it was already far too late to reel back the erection that had been growing inevitably, ever since she had first climbed off that bike. It wasn't like she was the first woman he'd seen driving one, but curses, she was sensual even in that sense. It was as though everything he had ever found desirable in a woman had been thrown together in one, extraordinary package, and now she was naked before him. Naked, and flaunting her body, as per the light slant of her hips…

"How many sweaty, disgusting fools have climbed atop this chair?" Azula asked, glancing at him over her shoulder once she had finished composing her ponytail.

"N-not that many…" Sokka said, swallowing hard. "But… I clean it every time! I do! Want me to clean it again? Because I can do it, if you're uncomfortable…"

"You'd better do it. I am uncomfortable," Azula smirked, stepping away from the chair… and again, deliberately doing so by keeping her back towards him. Sokka chewed on his cheeks as he tried to control himself: she really was going to drive him mad, at this rate.

He found his cleaning supplies, the strongest of them, and got to work. Azula was enjoying a thorough inspection of his wares in the mean time, walking barefooted – if she was so concerned with hygiene, it seemed odd she would do that when she, for one thing, didn't even need to loosen up her shoes for a tattoo that would only reach her rear… – as she waited for him to finish cleaning the chair from any lingering residues of any kind.

"Alright… I think you can do it now," Sokka smiled, climbing off the chair as he shifted the adjustable settings: it became a perfect bed, better for their purposes, he hoped.

Of course, Azula would only climb it once he was putting away his cleaning implements, and he didn't even let his damn groin protest over that: he focused on his task, giving Azula enough time to relax on the bed… before turning towards her, collecting his markers again.

"You'll have to forgive me, Princess Homura… but you'll need to turn over many times while we do this," he said, his professional voice blatantly insincere.

"Oh, dear. I guess I shall have no choice," Azula said, dramatically. He smirked.

"Shall we, then?" he said, pulling his own chair close so he could start the design.

Azula nodded awkwardly, facedown as she was.

"Go ahead," she whispered, and Sokka raised his first marker.

She had decided the tail should begin at her nape, so he began there: he'd go slowly, gradually, sketching lines of the dragon's contour and body until he reached the head, which would occupy her middle-to-lower back, much like his own tattooed wolf did – he couldn't help but think she hoped to mirror his design with her own, and it was quite a flattering gesture. He dragged the marker along expertly for the first curves of the dragon's shape, tracing it all the way until it reached Azula's right armpit, and then he returned to the beginning, depicting the spikes that should accompany the dragon's body. Then he returned one more time, to draw each scale perfectly carefully, and wherever it should be visible, the dragon's underbelly, with another marker.

And with that, it was time for her to turn around. Sokka released a breath before speaking his thoughts:

"I'll be going over the front now."

"Ah… right," Azula said, smiling as she obeyed, impossibly slowly.

Sokka swallowed dryly, and she could see his Adam's apple bobbing as he did, a rather masculine, sensual gesture she was entranced by… but she supposed he was far more taken with her own, fully bare body, once she was lying on her back, arms raised so he could patch the dragon outline with the new share of art he'd decorate her body with.

"Is this okay?" she asked, innocently. Sokka jumped, as though he had been about to fall off his chair… his eyes, of course, most unprofessionally focused on her bare breasts. "Or would you rather I take up some other position?"

"N-no, no, this is… this is good," he said, with a nervous grin, as he raised his marker again. Azula, though, clicked her tongue teasingly.

"You sure? You look… uncomfortable," she said. He snorted and laughed, touching her skin with the marker's tip again.

"I… am not uncomfortable. Not in a bad sense anyway," he said. "If anything… I'm probably enjoying the view way more than any tattoo artist has any right to. Excuse me for that, if you would, Princess Homura…"

"Should I truly excuse you… Prince Kawakami?" she teased him back. He laughed, though he continued to drag the marker over her collarbone.

Azula smiled, inevitably, delighted by his reactions… by his unwillingness to back down, too. He rose up to every challenge, and seemed quite willing to acknowledge the wild thoughts that were coursing through his mind. She wondered just how long it'd take before he bit the bait… she hoped he'd do it soon, too. She wasn't sure it was advisable for anyone to have wild sex after taking several needles to the skin at a rapid pace, anyway.

Because, yes, they were going to have wild sex, one way or another. She had no intentions of leaving this parlor today without a taste of the man she was being touched and intimately studied by.

He dragged her arms down when he needed them in another position, and then doodled a quick loop over her arm… only to ask her to turn again. Azula sighed but relented, feeling him dragging the marker over her back, relaxing under that soft, wet, localized sensation… and again, she had to turn, once he was drawing the dragon's body over her other arm. Azula complied, lying on her side now, watching him intently while not subtly squeezing her breasts together in this position. His eyes traveled there on occasion, and his cheeks would heat up whenever they did: she smiled each time, but he only continued to work… until it was time for the front again, and he asked her to lie down as he brought the dragon's body down through the valley between her breasts.

"I… may need to touch them," he said. Azula gasped in feigned astonishment, and he smirked. "Just thought I'd warn you, if you needed me to…"

"Oh, my. A man, touching my chest… unfathomable," she said, teasingly. Sokka laughed and shook his head as he started on the first curve that would hug the outline of Azula's breast.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation, but more than that, the knowledge that he was absolutely looking forward to touching her. She waited, impatiently, her heart drumming in her chest…

And then it happened: fingers, catching her breast's underside, raising it gently as the marker trailed below it. She wasn't imagining the way those fingers felt her skin, certainly… he was fondling her lightly, and she was starting to think she'd leave quite the wet spot on his adjustable chair after today. This simply couldn't be so exciting…

"How's it feel?" he asked, teasingly. Azula hummed.

"Wet… and cold," she replied. Sokka snorted.

"The marker?" he asked.

"What else would you have meant to ask me about?" she said, closing her eyes carelessly.

He bit back another laugh: but curses, she was beautiful. Her eyelashes, the perfect makeup applied across them, her straight nose, her full lips, her feminine, yet strong chin… He damn near distracted himself with the urge of covering her with kisses, rather than with a tattoo's initial design. He had to find a more productive way to do this, he thought to himself, and yet…

She had to turn again, as the dragon's body would loop around her back, and then return to her front. Sokka erased the unnecessary portions by dabbing alcohol on a cotton ball and wiping off the marker's previous lines. The cold liquid made Azula shiver… or she took advantage of it to deliberately shift sensually against the chair, Sokka didn't know which it was. She had hiked up her rear unnecessarily this time, and his eyes kept escaping southwards to gaze at those perfectly circular mounds, barely resisting the urge to fondle them…

But he could lightly fondle her next breast now, and so he did, once she turned again. Azula was the picture of helplessness, arms raised over her head, eyes closed, soft purrs slipping from her throat…

Oh. Oh hell, she was moments away from moaning, and he sure as heck wanted to hear that.

In a most bold, careless manner, he brushed her nipple with his thumb: Azula moaned indeed, and Sokka's pulsating erection begged for him to cut it out. If he was going to do filthy things to her, he'd better stop playing around already… but no, he couldn't. He had to finish this. The claws now, the claws…

"I'm going to have to touch them again…" he said. She bit her lip.

"M-must you…?" she asked, her voice suggestive and playful. He smiled.

"The claws will be right here… I need a proper view of the skin," he said, tapping her upper breast. Azula hummed.

"That high…?" she asked. "I thought it'd be… more over here?"

She led his fingers lower… and they brushed her nipple again. Another moan, and she opened her eyes to gaze at him wantonly as he smiled knowingly.

"It… might not be anatomically correct," he said. She bit her lip.

"What a conundrum, isn't it?" she whispered.

"And it… could hurt," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Azula smiled.

"You think a Homura doesn't know how to handle pain?" she asked. "We literally burn our bodies to prove our worth, when need be…"

"You haven't burned yours, I see," Sokka whispered, carelessly dragging his hand down her flank. Azula moaned again. "Unless… it's somewhere else?"

"I thought you'd have seen me… completely by now," Azula smiled, moaning suggestively again once his hand trailed over her thigh.

"Not completely, I admit…" Sokka whispered, leaning closer to her… just as his fingers slipped between her legs.

Azula's moan was no longer intentionally erotic: she gasped and clenched up, and Sokka hummed as his fingers dipped into her hot wetness. Her chest started to heave, and he smirked for it, guiding his marker over the rising and falling breasts to decorate them with the outline of the dragon's claws.

"Hmm… doesn't feel burned, no. If anything… quite the opposite," he smiled. Azula whimpered, lightly thrusting her body towards him. "Hmm? Oh, is this too invasive?"

"Y-yes… it is…" she smiled, closing her eyes as she thrusted again. "That's… Homura territory, you shameless Kawakami…"

"Oh, no… I've made a terrible mistake, haven't I?" he said, smirking as he finished the details of the first claw, and moved to mark the second one. "I suppose I'll have to do extra work here now, won't I? Otherwise, you'll never forgive my transgression… and there'll be no alliance."

"That's… that's right," Azula moaned: his fingers were dabbing into her opening, the thumb rubbing her clit in the sweetest manner. "Do good… and… and you'll be free to enter Homura territory at will…"

"Hmm… sounds like the best deal ever," Sokka whispered, finishing the fourth claw, and moving to depicting scales now – it was, admittedly, quite difficult to focus on the art when most his body was focusing on his hand's actions upon Azula's lower body instead.

"T-then… do right by me… oh, do right by me, Sokka…" she moaned, thrusting harder, her chest still heaving terribly sensually: he wanted to see those breasts bouncing as she rode his shaft, they were more than large enough for that…

Oh, he was being so unprofessional, his master would have his hide if only he knew… and yet the woman underneath him was hotter than her last name, than everything her fire clan stood for. He couldn't be above his damn base desires… not when they were hidden away from the world in this basement, safely alone, free to be intimate, to desecrate his sacred working place… he wanted to. He absolutely wanted to.

"Alright… alright, then," he said, smirking as his face hovered right above hers.

Azula's lips parted, and she seemed to be about to catch his lips with her own… but he pulled away, to her chagrin. Where the hell did he think he was going…?

She got the answer upon sensing a sudden, wet, warm pressure around her nipple: his breath brushed against it just before he sucked for the first time, and Azula didn't hold back her loud cries of passion. Oh, he was the worst, the absolute worst, and she just loved it. She was perfectly used to seducing men whenever she felt like it, to being the object of someone's desire, for she had been that for many of her father's henchmen over the years… but she always had the urge to enforce her authority, her strength, her control and superiority. This time… oh, this time she didn't even want to. Not with a man who was fingering her most recklessly, sucking on her breast persistently before switching to the other.

"T-the… t-the marker's ink won't… c-come off, will it…?" Azula moaned, as Sokka's strong body loomed closer to hers.

"No… and if it does, I'll do it again," he smiled, speaking between loud suctions of her nipple. He was a shameless bastard, truly… and she wanted more of that. So much more of that…

"Will you… wind up devouring my breasts again… if that happens?" Azula asked.

"Would you like that…?" he moaned against her chest.

He was covering her breasts in light nibbling as he pointedly avoided the places he had traced with his marker. Oh, he would've loved to cover her chest with kisses, but at risk of intaking chemicals he shouldn't, he'd have to hold back until her full set was done… ah, by then, once she was fully rested and recovered, she would be even more sensual than she already was, with her soul's dragon bearing its fangs, threatening any and all unwanted menaces… but he had wolves that could fight the dragon, just as well. They would clash and collide, and sleep together as many times as she allowed it… he sure hoped it'd be about a thousand times. Just this much was as exciting as could be…

"Yes… yes I would, I… don't stop… don't stop…" Azula moaned, thrusting lightly against his hand. "Ah! D-don't, please, don't…!"

Her urgency compelled him to drill into her with his fingers, going harder than before: his other hand held her wrists, which she had helpfully raised over her head. She was completely at his mercy, and the powerlessness appeared to turn her on so badly she couldn't stand it. With a few more powerful thrusts of his hand, and that thumb ever prodding and exploring her sensitive clit, Azula came undone with loud cries. Sokka smirked as he returned to kissing and sucking her nipple, chuckling maliciously as he continued driving into her, harder, rougher, without any restraint. Azula trembled on the chair, her voice failing her when the second peak arrived soon after the first, tearing through her violently, so much her body seemed to shatter… and yet it didn't. And perhaps because it didn't, her wicked lover had decided to keep going, bringing her to the brink one more time as she screamed, completely losing control while writhing under his hand.

Sokka slowed at the third peak, laughing deviously as his lips hovered over her left breast. She was sweating now, and even that was exciting as hell. Nothing about her could be unappealing, as far as he could tell…

He raised his head slowly, his mischievous smirk found by her misty gaze as she shivered violently still, her legs spread, her lips parted.

"Y-you… y-you just…" she said, and he raised an eyebrow cockily.

"Want me to do that again?" he asked. "Got a few more tricks up my sleeve, but if you want more…"

"You're… mad," she said, furthering his amusement. "Doing this… to your tattoo customer…"

"It's a first for me, if you really want to know," he chuckled. "Like I said… most my customers aren't exactly my type."

"And I am?" Azula smiled, despite the heat of the situation was still overwhelming for her.

"You? I think you've completely torn down every standard I thought I had… and rewritten them all on your own," Sokka whispered, rising until his face was level with hers. "If this makes our alliance impossible… well, woops. I'll have to tell my dad I mucked it up. But damn, I… I really want to have sex with you."

"Y-you… you perverted man," Azula smiled, closing her eyes in obvious delight. Sokka snickered.

"Don't like perverts much, do you…?" he asked, prodding her nose with his own.

"Not usually, no," she said. "But… you're in a league of your own, looks like."

"I'm worse than the others?" Sokka smirked.

"Yeah… because you're good at this, they aren't," Azula smiled. Sokka laughed, pressing his brow to hers just before diving for a kiss…

But her hand darted to his chest and clasped it hard, just as his upper lip touched hers, and she forced him to climb the chair by flipping them around: it was him below her suddenly, and she was the one above, chest still heaving, face still flushed, hair falling out of that ponytail again… but this time she didn't seem to mind that much.

"Az-…" he said, but her fingers landed on his lips.

"I… will return the favor," she smiled, dragging her fingers down to his shirt – he was wearing a perfectly casual outfit today, though the long sleeves prevented her from seeing the beautiful tattoos he sported over his arms.

She dragged herself down his body, pushing his shirt off in an urgent hurry – Sokka intended to help her tug it off but it was no use when Azula stopped once the shirt was at his neck's level: his chest and abdomen were fully exposed, and she needed to devour them at haste.

Sokka snorted, laughing as he struggled to pull off the shirt in the awkward situation she had left him in, with his elbows awkwardly stuck while only his lower jaw had slid under the shirt's neck.

"You… you're into bondage, are you?" he laughed. Azula, busy lavishing his strong chest with long, sucking kisses, only moaned in response. "Oh, hell, that's good…"

Her hands didn't help him with his upper body's struggle: instead they were undoing his belt, shoving off his trousers forcefully, and as her teeth nibbled teasingly down his defined abs – they were just as delightful as she had thought yesterday, damn him – she continued to move south until she reached his underwear-clad groin. Sokka gasped when her lips pressed a kiss over the fabric at first, and he groaned once she cupped his testicles with one hand, the other massaging his manhood while her lips continued to teasingly unravel his full girth: she wore lipstick, didn't she? She was going to stain his underwear with it? Oh, that should be a completely ridiculous thought and yet his very hard cock seemed more erect because of it.

"Y-you sure love… to tease a man," Sokka growled, finally tossing his shirt aside, and Azula snickered as she tugged the hem of his boxers.

"Be… rough," Azula advised him. Sokka smirked. "Not to the point of killing me, of course, but… use my mouth as you please. Alright?"

"You don't know restraint of any sort, do you…?" he asked, and Azula's smile reflected his own.

"We're yakuza, aren't we? We don't play nice and sweet," she said, teasingly, as she tugged the garment down, enough to expose his large erection. She licked her lips. "My, my, someone's enjoying himself…"

"Mind you… this is the best tattoo session I've ever had, so yes, I am," Sokka chuckled. Azula smirked and winked at him.

"It's about to get better," she said.

She leaned down, engulfing his cock with her mouth in one quick motion: Sokka cried out, throwing his head back against the cushioned chair's headrest, for Azula had taken him in deeply enough for his tip to press against the roof of her mouth. She didn't ease up in the least, bobbing her head back and forth while seeking his hand… placing it on her hair. She had asked for it rough, hadn't she? Sokka gritted his teeth and hoped she wouldn't change her mind.

His fingers dug into her hair as he started thrusting upwards: to his surprise, his thrusting compelled her to moan, in time with his own groans: one of her hands toyed with his ball sack, the other snaked upwards, touching all those strong, tense muscles that had charmed her since that day in the park. She wanted him to break her if he wished, to show her just how strong he was, how much pleasure he could provide a woman… and he sure had showed her plenty before, but she was greedy enough to want more. She sucked him eagerly, thoroughly, basking in every perfect ridge of his body, whether related to his pulsating manhood or his strong abs… and then he grew more savage, thrusting harder, faster, and she focused exclusively on the cock inside her mouth, doing her best not to choke, to continue breathing through her mouth, to enjoy his powerful thrusting as his hands messed her hair and kept her in place…

"I'm… I'm close… I'm close, hell, I'm gonna…!" he gasped, thrusting harder, more urgently: Azula helped by sucking in a quick, violent rhythm, and suddenly a hot liquid sprayed the back of her throat.

Oh, it tasted terribly and yet she relished in receiving it. She laughed as she sucked some more, aiding the still-thrusting Sokka to find his ultimate release, and that he did: he soon flopped on the chair, breathing heavily, his arms falling to the side as his eyes rolled closed.

"You… are something else, Princess Homura…" he whispered.

"Hmm, you are wild when you want to be… I like that, Prince Kawakami," Azula announced, smirking as she pressed soft kisses to the side of his manhood. Sokka chuckled and sighed in bliss, relishing in the continuous oral pleasure she offered him.

"I… want to return the favor too," he said, smiling. "I bet you taste amazing…"

"Hmm, you gross pervert… wanting to taste and smell my privates, what has the world come to?" she said, before taking a deep breath and licking his flaccid cock thoroughly, enough for it to twitch gently as she smirked. "Oh, wait a second…"

Sokka laughed, sitting up to reach for her and tug her towards him. Azula relented despite herself, sighing upon being taken away from the most delightful cock she had ever been acquainted with. His hands fell right to her rear, cupping each cheek, and Azula hummed before grinding her bare body against his.

"Want something?" she asked, casually.

"You," he said, and his hand reached up to fist her hair before he pressed a powerful, open-mouthed kiss to her lips.

Azula moaned, surrendering to the kiss quickly: his invasive tongue danced and twirled around hers, and her heart raced faster and faster as it did. It felt so good to kiss him, just as good as she had hoped it would, as she allowed him to claim her thoroughly for himself… and no doubt, it had to feel good for him too, considering he couldn't seem to stop – he only let her catch her breath for a second before nibbling on her lower lip, or trailing his tongue across her mouth, a smooth battering ram demanding access it was granted instantly: she really liked this overwhelming feeling, as his hands fondled her every curve, at first her ass, slowly her waist, then her breasts again…

"I'm going to eat you," he whispered. She moaned against his lips.

"Thought you already were…" she said. Sokka snickered before slipping off the chair, only to flip their positions anew.

It was he who sat at the edge of the chair now, balancing himself skillfully while Azula, boldly, knowingly and shamelessly, wrapped her legs around his neck and urged him to dive into her perfectly waxed core: with the same skill as with his hands before, Sokka toyed with her clit and unraveled, quite quickly, the places she needed his touch most in, by the urgency of her moans, to the point of near becoming screams. She wouldn't stop urging him onwards, spurring him to continue, whispering many surprisingly dirty phrases in the process. Sokka couldn't contain occasional laughs upon hearing those, and when he gazed up to look at his delightful lover, she'd meet his eyes just the same, her lips parted as though waiting for his to claim them anew…

Oh, he was in real trouble if he kept on in this path. No doubt he wasn't supposed to be having sex with Ozai Homura's prized golden daughter… but more than that, he had a feeling he wouldn't have enough with a single outing. And damn, he hoped neither would she.

He needed to make sure she wouldn't have enough, of course: and as her not-so-dormant excitement rose anew, while Sokka's tongue traveled mischievously across her wet folds, a new peak neared and Azula had half a mind to give herself to it completely…

"Y-you should… ah – you should come here, and… and go for it. S-Sokka… Sokka…"

Ah, she wanted him to go inside her already? He was hard enough to try… but he wanted her to ask again. He wanted her to beg, for some twisted, ridiculous reason…

"Please…? Sokka, I can't hold it… I-I'm going to…!" she said: the words surprised him, for he hadn't expected she'd be so close.

But as irresponsible as it might be to disregard her prior request, he refused to let her lose a perfectly good orgasm if he eased up now. So he didn't slow down, and instead devoured her even more ravenously… and he was rewarded by an onslaught of sex juices that he could develop an addiction for, from that day forward. He groaned happily, caressing her thighs erotically, and Azula whimpered in a sensual way as she flopped, helpless, on the chair.

"You… you kept going… when I told you to fuck me…" she said. He had still been face-first up her core, but he pulled away to glance at her somewhat apologetically.

"I wanted to tease you for a bit," he admitted. "B-but I just didn't think you were that close. When I realized you were, well… I didn't want your orgasm to be unfulfilling."

"You…" Azula whispered… and then a smile spread over her face. "You're good. Better than good."

"You think?" he smiled awkwardly.

"What kind of man… doesn't jump at the chance of putting his cock inside me as soon as I offer the chance?" Azula laughed. "But you… you'd rather make sure I have all the pleasure I can have. Do you realize what a rarity you are…?"

"Eh, I did suspect I was one of a kind," Sokka smirked, winking at Azula before leaning close to kiss her abdomen. "Glad I didn't fuck up, I thought I might have…"

"You were amazing," Azula decided, releasing him from her grip.

"You're even more amazing," he whispered as he kissed his way up to her collarbone, avoiding the lines his marker had trailed over her body. Azula moaned and caressed his back.

"How do you want… to do this?" she asked.

"Four orgasms… and you still want more," Sokka smirked. "I like you. A lot."

"I like you too. That's why I want more," Azula smiled. "Well? Any special requests…?"

"Ride me," he asked, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. Azula groaned and kissed him harder, urging him to switch with her again on the chair.

"You want me to like you more and more… don't you? Surrendering control to me…" Azula smiled, nibbling on his lip as she pressed him down on the chair while straddling his hips. "And the weirdest part is… I don't mind it much, when you're in control. Most other men are just…"

"No good?" Sokka smirked arrogantly. Azula huffed.

"More than a little full of themselves," she declared. Sokka snickered. "They assume they're good even before they've brought me to the brink the first time… it makes no sense, does it? Pretending you're good at sex without any basis…"

"Might be they're just no good for you…" Sokka suggested, kissing her jawline softly. "Might be, and this is just a wild guess… that you're better off with someone who takes his time to figure out where you want your clit to be prodded?"

"Hmm… yes," Azula moaned, pressing her chest to his. Sokka snickered. "Someone who likes to do naughty things when he's supposed to be a very professional tattoo artist…"

"Well, excuse me for my shamelessness," Sokka whispered, clamping his hands at either of her ass cheeks. Azula moaned again for it. "I'm a work in progress, clearly…"

"Shame on you…" Azula said, swaying her body against him. "Whatever shall I do? Will all our sessions turn out like this, I wonder?"

"Would that be so bad?" Sokka smiled. Azula bit her lip and grinned too.

"No. Definitely not," she laughed, kissing him and sliding into position.

With as many orgasms as she had enjoyed so far, it was only natural that Azula would fit Sokka's sizeable manhood without so much as flinching: he stretched her sensitive walls in a marvelous way, and she arched her body forward over the pleasure. Sokka grinned lecherously, playfully toying with her nipples, and Azula's moans only grew louder and more lustful because of it. She wanted everything he could give her, without holding back…

"You feel… so damn good," he laughed, with that charming smile she had been taken by from the moment she had first seen it. Azula purred again, thrusting forward and causing him to gasp. "A-Azula…"

"You feel good… inside me, too," she smirked, her long nails scraping his shoulders as she braced herself for thrusting again.

She took to a steady rhythm, one Sokka followed fit with: his eyes remained utterly entranced by the bouncing breasts before him, which enticed him to grope and fondle them before long. Azula's string of moans continued as she thrusted harder, recklessly chasing further excitement as Sokka's caresses only aided her in that particular pursuit: she would sway her body sensually, grinding her pelvis into him, her clit brushing delightfully against his skin and prompting her to moan further.

He filled her so well, to the hilt, and she wanted nothing but to keep him there forever. All this sex was probably not the best preamble for a tattoo, considering her skin would be extra sensitive because of it… but she thrived in the feeling of that cock tearing her walls down, smashing through her powerfully, threatening to wrestle control she found herself wanting to relinquish to him. If she couldn't keep going, she sure hoped he'd continue for her…

Sokka's hands had stayed on Azula's breasts, his palms almost tickled by the nipples that brushed against them. By now, though, his impulsive greedy lust overcame him: he sat up on the chair, tugging the controls expertly to recline the backrest. Comfortably sitting now, Sokka tugged her closer, making her spread her legs as far as she could while he penetrated her powerfully, covering her lips with eager kisses.

He had made his move at the right time, of course: Azula could barely hold herself back now, trembling as she felt a new peak looming closer. She was sure she hadn't ever reached so many climaxes in her life, and she absolutely relished in it, diving into Sokka's mouth with her tongue as her needy moans conveyed that she was at her limit. Yet again, Sokka only moved faster, harder, thrusting almost frantically inside her until Azula's long nails dug into his skin as she came with the strongest burst of pleasure yet. Oh, she couldn't even feel herself anymore, she was nothing but a huge blanket of aroused bliss, and he still wouldn't stop thrusting, still he kept going, rubbing his cock powerfully against the walls that tried to milk it. And milk it they would, but not until he was ready to relinquish his conquest: he had incredible self-restraint, capable of going forth with the wild tryst without losing himself to the swarms of pleasure. He'd give in eventually, yes he would, but he would last as long as he could, he would give her as many orgasms in a row as he could muster… and by her erotic moans against his mouth, their wild kissing interrupted as she struggled to catch her breath, he was probably close to getting her another one already.

Azula nearly screamed when the second peak came, and Sokka relished in her exposed neck, only to then move lower, to her chest anew. His voracious, lascivious kisses made it more than clear that he wanted her, all of her, and he'd stop at nothing to show it… yet, again, when Azula's third peak loomed closer – and she was seeing shapes dancing in her eyesight now, her whole body appeared to be both lighter than ever and heavier, somehow – Sokka couldn't hold back any longer: he released himself inside her just before her climax was triggered, and the shuddering inner walls around his cock squeezed him marvelously as he gave himself to her wildly, roughly, thrusting hard as his flesh slapped against hers, their sweaty bodies making magic wherever they might be joined.

He only stopped once her walls stopped shuddering too, and even then they lightly rocked together, grinding their bodies, kissing each other long, deep and slow, now that the surging passion had peaked. Azula clung to embracing him, comfortable by pressing her chest into his… and clearly Sokka wasn't about to complain for the delightful sensation of her nipples brushing his skin. His hands clasped her rear, keeping her in place, teasing her with light squeezes.

"That's… how a Kawakami tattoos his customers, then?" Azula asked between kisses, smiling teasingly. He snickered.

"Only the ones hotter than the earth's core, I'd say," he whispered, pressing his lips across her jawline.

"Hmm… so I got the premium package, did I?" Azula asked, fingers sliding into his hair. He chuckled again as he kissed his way up to her cheek.

"You're the sexiest woman that ever lived," he said, thrusting teasingly – despite he was flaccid now, they had remained in the same position, and the friction between their bodies still made Azula moan suggestively. "Say… we do need to work on the tattoo, don't we?"

"Mmm… maybe…" she moaned, sighing as she melted into his very physical teasing.

"You think you could, maybe… tell your people I'm a very devoted artist, and I've asked that we pull as many all-nighters as necessary to get the full tattoo done?" he said, smiling teasingly.

"Ah? You're asking me to stay with you?" Azula asked, amused. "For how long?"

"Until the job's done?" he said, stroking her hair. "I literally live on the second floor. We can just…"

"Go up there to rest. Have some more sex, then head back down here, work, have more sex on your fancy chair…?" Azula proposed, smirking. Sokka laughed. "You'd better do an amazing job with the tattoo, you know? Otherwise they'll all know I'm just sleeping with you."

"I'll do my best," he promised, kissing her lips softly again. "So? You'll… stay?"

"Oh, I don't know. What will I wear?" she asked, teasingly.

"On the most part… nothing," he smirked. "But if you really want to… I can lend you my things."

"Can you… at least tattoo me while shirtless?" she asked, biting her lip. "I'm sure having some really good eye-candy will make this whole process way smoother and much more enjoyable for me…"

"I wouldn't say no to anything that pleases an upstanding lady like yourself…" he replied, caressing her thigh suggestively. Azula smiled and kissed him again.

"This is quite the promising start for the Homura-Kawakami alliance," she said. Sokka snickered, stealing another kiss from her lips.

"I knew you could be persuaded to join us. With the right leverage," Sokka smirked. "Alright… I think I should order something for lunch now. We can keep going after, if you want? For now…"

"Keep going with what? Sex or tattoos?" Azula asked. Sokka snickered.

"With you, I'm not sure what's the difference," he said, and she smirked while biting her lip, a most sensual gesture he topped off with a kiss. "You're so beautiful…"

"You're as handsome as can be too, if you must know…" she smiled, resting her head upon his shoulder. "And such a handsome man will kidnap me for days… It's probably the most exciting thing that ever happened to me, and I don't even live a boring life."

"It's about to get even less boring," Sokka smiled, kissing her fiercely. "I can promise you that."

And while she usually didn't trust people, Azula believed him. She trusted him when he offered to take pictures of her body to document the whole process – she even posed suggestively for him, making him laugh and sending pleasant shivers through his groin. They ate together, once the food Sokka ordered arrived – noodles, hers were extra spicy, and she attempted to kiss him after, but he knew better than to let her, knowing it was a dangerous trap. It proved a helpful tool, for only this way could Sokka pull off the full outline of the tattoo without distracting himself… or rather, distracting himself too much.

Only the outline was done by the evening, and as Azula's spicy meal was no longer a cause for concern, Sokka picked up his new lover and carried her up to his room, in the upper floor. And there he had raunchy sex with her anew, seeking, as ever, to make her climax as many times as possible. They both fell asleep while wrapped together, limbs interlocked, lips breathing mere inches from the other.

And that was how their whole week proceeded: they would work in the mornings, take a break before lunch, work again afterwards, then stop for the day and do anything they wished with each other. And as strange as it was to basically live together for a week, by the time the finishing touches were done, Sokka was almost sorry to finish Azula's luxurious tattoo.

It was exactly as she had wanted it, with the dark, black dragon as good as watching her back, while hugging her body sensually. Flames burst around the creature's body, and where it could have been a threat, Sokka thought it was but a sign of how intensely hot his lover was. She sat on his chair, fully naked, as he tapped in more ink at her lower belly, and Azula sighed as she wished this could have lasted a little longer…

"You can always get another set of tattoos, if you want them," Sokka suggested, stealing a kiss from her lips. "I'll love to close up shop and not talk to anyone but you for a week again…"

"Hmm, don't tempt me," Azula smiled, pressing her brow to his. "Is it done now?"

"Just… one more thing," Sokka said. "Where should I put my signature?"

"Ah? You'll sign my body, will you? And here I thought this whole art piece was a way of saying you own me…" she smirked. Sokka laughed and shook his head.

"I'm pretty sure no one can ever claim they own you, fierce Homura Princess," he said, cupping her cheeks to kiss her lips softly. "Though, if you do see this whole tattoo as a way to brand you as mine, well…"

"I think it's sensual to see it that way," Azula whispered, kissing his cheek. "One day… you'll have to teach me. And then… I can tattoo you somewhere, and add my signature so everyone knows that you're branded as mine, too."

"Sounds perfect," Sokka smirked. "Tattoo marriage, of a sort?"

"It's fine by me," she laughed.

Sokka smiled and kissed her, before nudging her to lie down again. Where to set the signature…? The question had pestered him for at least two days, but he guessed Azula herself would be the one to decide the location…

"Should be on the back, right?" Azula said, biting her lip teasingly. "I guess… here?"

She tapped her coccyx, and Sokka smiled before rolling his eyes and getting to work. Azula laughed, knowing that, if anyone saw the suggestive signature, the nature of her relationship with the Kawakami heir would be more than obvious… oh, but why bother hiding it? As it was, they were clearly going to do this again, and again, and many more times…

She had been startled by the pain despite being prepared, the first time he had used the actual needles. By now it was almost familiar, the initial sting, the liquid sensation as the ink settled, the light swelling that settled across her skin. She was going to emerge from this tattoo parlor a whole different person, she knew, and once Sokka finished setting his signature, he covered the rest of her back with soft kisses, reaching all the way to her nape.

"You know… it's pretty late," he whispered, reaching her face. Azula smiled as he kissed the very curvature of her mouth's corner. "Maybe… you can stay one more night?"

"If you hadn't asked, I would've likely demanded to stay anyway," she smiled. Sokka chuckled. "I hope I look extra appealing to you now, lover…"

"I want to ravish you immediately even though the ink's not fully settled," Sokka laughed, kissing the side of her head. "You're something, you know? Most people take it easy after being tattooed… you basically just determined which position we'd fuck in depending on what I'd inked each day, eh?"

"You can call it what it is: genuine wisdom," Azula smiled, and Sokka laughed again. "Ah, but I really will miss this… miss you."

"You don't have to," Sokka said, stroking her hair. "We'll have an alliance soon, right?"

"Oh, yes," Azula smiled. Sokka chuckled.

"Then, see? We'll see each other again. For work, maybe? But then again, this was supposed to be work, so…"

"I guess," Azula said, reaching up to cup his face. "Didn't think this weird ordeal would land me a lover, but… I'm glad it did."

"I'm glad it landed me one, too," Sokka said, kissing her wrist softly. "Here I thought I'd have to give up my dreams of dating the hottest woman in the world one day, but heh, turns out they came true anyway…"

"Well, I sure can't complain either," Azula smiled as she eyed his body hungrily. "My lover is god-like, as far as I can tell…"

Sokka chuckled, kissing her again as he continued to offer her gentle affections: the final stroke was done now, and with it, all the implications of their shared bond, their mischievous crime. They'd have to keep the relationship quiet, for Ozai surely wouldn't approve… but Azula wasn't scared, for some reason. Perhaps life outside the Homura clan had appeared unfathomable, for a time… but now she had lived life with the Kawakami heir, no less, if just for a week. And perhaps such unfathomable possibilities were no longer so difficult to envision…

* * *

Sokka returned to the Kawakami headquarters to many questions that turned into loud applause when he announced the tattooing process had been a total success. Azula, of course, had returned to find the Homura clan was bordering on chaos without her active, constant surveillance, for as hard as he had tried to fill in for her, Zuko hardly knew how to handle the many cameras deftly. She had been welcomed gladly… though Ozai had been astonished when she had suggested he pulled through with the alliance suggestion.

"I know it sounds mad, but… his strokes and technique are truly quality work," Azula assured Ozai. "We could benefit from this alliance. We haven't had an _tebori_ artist for a long time, so…"

"So, I take it the Kawakami boy is a seasoned professional ink artist?" Ozai asked, unamused. Azula nodded enthusiastically, though the word 'professional' certainly wasn't one her father would use if only he knew they'd indulged in so much wild, hot and relentless sex… "If you're impressed, then I suppose everyone will be. That being said, I need to know their full terms. Are you still in touch with the boy?"

"I can reach out, yes," Azula confirmed – no, she hadn't scheduled to meet him that night at his parlor to celebrate the likely success of their endeavor, of course not… "Shall I organize a meeting, then?"

"Please, do," Ozai said, releasing a breath. "An alliance with the Kawakami clan… well, I suppose we could do worse than that."

Azula deeply hoped he'd stick to that mentality, though there was no telling if he would, let alone if he found out she was doing her tattoo artist… but for now, it was a victory. One she'd be quick to tell her 'ink prince', as she had named his contact on her phone, as soon as she had a chance to.

A week later, a silent, elegant meeting took place at a predilect bar of Ozai's. He and Hakoda sat together at the head of their table's long room, discussing the minutiae of the alliance, while many of their closest associates watched: Zuko was there, tense, constantly eyeing the Kawakami as though he feared they might try to kill him. Katara, of course, kept shooting glares at him for his distrustful attitude, which resulted in just extra anxiety for the Homura heir. No matter how many times Kya asked Katara to cut it out, her daughter wouldn't budge.

And Azula and Sokka shot each other stern, serious glares whenever anyone else caught sight of them… and traded light smiles, occasional touches, whenever no one noticed. After half an hour, Sokka had excused himself from the table, claiming he needed to pace to stretch his legs. He approached the spot Azula stood at… and slipped a hand, most imperceptibly, towards the spot his signature had been branded at. Azula remained most impassive, until some discussion over taxes bored her enough to glance at Sokka with a teasing smile as well.

"Want me to order you a drink?" he asked. "For old times' sake, my first Homura customer?"

"Should be me ordering you one, you set this whole mess in motion," Azula assessed. Sokka chuckled.

"Guess that's one way to look at it," he grinned. "About, well, tonight–…"

"Whatever happens now… I'll go once I can give everyone the slip," Azula interrupted him, eagerness plain on her face. Sokka grinned back.

"Then I'll be waiting," he said. "Seems we keep having things worth celebrating, eh?"

"That we do," Azula smiled…

And her hand slipped to Sokka's tailbone just the same, prompting him to laugh quietly as they both indulged in their mischievous, private moment despite standing in public view. They had no doubts their wild, raunchy, tumultuous, dangerous affair was only just beginning… and as much as they knew strife, chaos, and much darkness could loom in the horizon, a moment as bright as this one, of an alliance cemented between clans, was meant to be cherished, just as another bond strengthened between two driven, talented, likeminded lovers, who couldn't wait to discover what their newly entwined destinies might just have in store…


	9. Day 9: Sokkla is painful for Zuko

A beam of light fell upon the woman. It didn't seem out of place, yet that spotlight appeared to say she was… alone. She projected a massive shadow… so strong it might consume her completely. She glanced at the darkness that poured from inside her warily, fearfully, perhaps knowing it could overwhelm and consume her.

But then that bright light changed, shifting not in nature, but in form. And where her darkness touched him, his features became clear. Where his light touched her, she became real. And once their lips joined, it was as though all the darkness and light in the world had stopped battling, but instead had accepted their true meaning and duty: to work together, to be tied to one another for infinity, to shed light and cast shadows on equal measure, always at a perfect, matching rhythm…

Light and shadow that enabled the onlooker to finally understand what he was looking at… or rather, who he was looking at.

A loud gasp, a yelp, and then he sat up with a start. His chest was heaving, his heart racing, beads of sweat clinging to his body. What he'd just witnessed… it couldn't be. It seemed so unlikely, so uncanny, but he had seen it with his own eyes…

"What… what's wrong?"

The female voice beside him called for him, reaching for his bare arm. She always liked sleeping with the covers rolled down to her naked waist, for the Fire Nation's heat bothered her at nights. Surely by now, her violet eyes had opened as she sought to unravel whatever had startled him so badly… but in such a dark room, it was impossible to tell if she could see him yet.

"Hey…" she called again, cupping his cheek: he was still breathing loudly, heavily, and still refusing to talk. "A bad dream?"

"B-bad…? I guess it wasn't bad…" he admitted, swallowing hard.

"Then what is it?" she asked, sitting up fully beside him: she hugged him, her breasts pressing against his arm. He wanted nothing but to return to what they had been doing earlier that night, before falling asleep in each other's arms… but he couldn't. Not when he was so shaken up. "Come on, love… you can tell me anything."

"You might think I'm crazy," he said. "I… I don't know. You'll probably think I am, actually… d-don't worry, Suki, really…"

"How can I not worry when you wake up in the middle of the night like that?" she asked, pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder, trailing up to his neck. "What is it? You can tell me…"

"Y-you're sure…?"

"Of course," Suki said, and he could nearly hear the smile in her very face. He released a breath slowly.

"W-well, I… saw two people, in my dream. Two people who were… well, connected! Drawn together, it was some strange metaphor on darkness and light? And I thought it was beautiful, but then I realized I knew who they were and… and that's when I woke up."

"Then… you knew those two people?" Suki asked, caressing his hair gently.

"Yeah. I did," he said, breathing out slowly. "And they… were kissing."

"Was it us?" she asked, amused.

"Uh… that's where you'll think I'm crazy."

"Uh-oh. Dreaming about another girl, were you?"

"No, I wasn't! Suki, it was… it was Azula and Sokka."

All her teasing behavior ended abruptly then, and she pulled away from him to no doubt give him the most skeptical stare of all time, even if imperceptible in the dark room.

"You… were dreaming about your sister kissing your best friend, Zuko?"

Zuko groaned and dropped on the bed again, and Suki just sat in place in the darkness, all her interest in soothing her lover's concerns with her body suddenly frozen cold: that wasn't at all what she had expected to hear.

"I don't usually think about my sister kissing people! I mean, objectively? The idea of anyone kissing my sister is gross," Zuko groaned, covering his face with his hands. "And I'm sure the idea of anyone kissing me makes her sick too, so we're even!"

"Well, I don't know. She never seemed to mind Mai much, did she?" Suki reasoned. "And she hasn't given us a hard time or said anything about finding us disgusting, her teasing is usually… not quite about that? So… I guess you're the weird one. Must be your dream was your subconscious mind, betraying that you need to stop being so childish and accept your sister can have relationships of her own. Right?"

"U-uh… huh," Zuko frowned, his hands slipping down his face as he pondered her words. "Then… I should accept this? I guess I am unfair, aren't I…? I've been with you for two years as it is, so… maybe you're right. Maybe… maybe that's what my dream was telling me. But maybe it was also telling me something else."

"Like… what?" Suki asked, blinking blankly.

"That… the one Azula should be with is Sokka," Zuko said. Suki's jaw dropped.

"Z-Zuko…? Is it really up to you to decide that?" she asked. "I mean, it's good if you're going to accept that your sister can have relationships without making a fuss about it, she's a grown-up now, after all, and she should make her own choices… but that's part of it too, you know? Maybe she'll choose someone other than Sokka…?"

"Well, why should she?" Zuko sat up again, casting his room's lantern aglow with a quick flick of his hand. Suki's confusion was apparent underneath the new light, more so when Zuko stared at her intensely. "See this? Light! That's what he will be, for her! And she has a darkness that he can temper with his light, while her darkness gives him shape and focus! So…! It's actually the best match of all time! Suki, you see it too, right?! Don't you?!"

"Zuko… it's literally three in the morning," she pointed out. He swallowed hard. "Don't you think all the Fire Lord pressures are getting to you…?"

"No! This is…! I'm absolutely serious here, Suki! I… I wouldn't have dreamt this for no reason," Zuko determined, with certainty. Suki sighed. "Visions are real! Aang would tell you so, too!"

"Sokka once told me Aang dreamt your father wouldn't fight him because Aang wasn't wearing any pants," Suki said, looking at Zuko skeptically. Zuko swallowed hard.

"Okay but that's not the kind of dream I meant…"

"The next time, he was going to give Aang a math test. And then? He was riding a flying hippocow while telling him he had slept in on the day of the invasion," Suki continued, with a sarcastic grin. Zuko's cheeks heated up more with every new retelling of Aang's dreams. "My point is, Zuko, sometimes… dreams are just dreams! And it's not up to you to decide what Sokka or Azula should do in their love lives, okay? They're their own people, they make their own decisions. Okay?"

"Fine…" Zuko pouted. Suki laughed and kissed his cheek.

"I do love it when you get passionate about things, but… you need perspective sometimes, sweetheart," she laughed, pulling him down on the mattress again and cuddling against him.

Yet Zuko's mind and heart couldn't seem to stop racing. Even as Suki embraced him, and he turned off the lantern with another flicker of his hand, he knew what he'd seen was no chance, no mere coincidence: his sister had a soulmate, and after all the mistakes he had made in their relationship so far, he refused to make another one now. He would help her find love… and then, hopefully, Azula would find the happiness she deserved. This was the right thing for a good older brother to do, and Suki would understand by the time his new venture bore the right fruit…

* * *

Breakfast wasn't a particularly formal occasion in the Fire Nation Palace ever since Zuko had taken the throne. People would come and go to the dining room at whatever time they could afford to, depending on what their duties required them to do. Of course, if you were too late, the food would likely be cold, or you could end up skipping breakfast altogether and wind up eating lunch instead… the cold part was never a problem for Zuko, as he could warm his own food if need be, and he made a point to join Suki whenever she had a late breakfast due to her shifts, in case she wanted a hotter meal than she'd gotten. It was funny sometimes, Zuko had to admit, that he'd made such a fuss when Iroh had warmed up his tea in Ba Sing Se… but nowadays he was doing the same thing with many meals, and for more people than just himself.

Suki wouldn't be joining him today – she'd had an early start that morning, eaten her own meal in a rush and headed out to patrol the Palace. And while people were likely to come and go through the morning, Zuko intended to take the day as easy as he could… namely so he could wait for two very important people to stop by at the dining room.

Sokka was the first to arrive, yawning loudly as he entered the room with his usual nonchalance. After being a lanky Water Tribe boy when they had been fighting together in the war, he had even surpassed Zuko in height, and sported muscular arms with which he could likely crush someone's neck if he tried. It was, perhaps, a dark thought to be had about his friend, Zuko had to admit, but it seemed to him Azula would definitely appreciate a lover as physically strong as Sokka had become across the last years.

"Oh, you're still here, Zuko? Thought you'd be lording over your subjects by now," Sokka said, taking his seat by an available breakfast set and smiling with mischievous glee. "Woah, looks like a feast today! So much breakfast meat!"

"Thought you'd appreciate that," Zuko said, smiling. "I wanted to switch up our menus a little? If that's alright by everyone. I suppose the only risk with giving you more meat during meals is that you'll decide you want to stay in the Fire Nation for good, right?"

"And what's so wrong with that?" Sokka retaliated, grinning. "You said I'm a pretty good ambassador for the Southern Water Tribe, right?"

"You have been," Zuko nodded. "So consider this, uh… a gesture of appreciation?"

"You're weirdly generous all of sudden," Sokka said, raising his eyebrows. "Got to wonder if you have an ulterior motive, buddy…"

"W-what?! Why would I have an ulterior motive?!" Zuko exclaimed, unnecessarily loudly. Sokka inched away from the table, eyeing his friend warily.

"Umm… no reason?" he said, awkwardly. "I was just messing around?"

"Oh. Uh, sorry," Zuko smiled too. Sokka blinked blankly as he started eating, still glancing at Zuko with unease. "Sorry, I guess I'm a little on edge? It was a strange night…"

"Is that so…?" Sokka smiled awkwardly. Zuko flinched.

"I-I don't mean because of, well, Suki? Though… sorry. I know I shouldn't talk about this…"

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop worrying about it, Zuko?" Sokka smiled. "It's been like… what, seven years since she and I called it quits? And it was a mutual decision too. I'm happy you two are happy together, though I do think you should make it official eventually, you know…?"

"You know it's not easy, not even for a Fire Lord," Zuko sighed, but Sokka's change of subject brought an idea to mind. "Though… I guess I shouldn't involve myself in your love life, but you haven't really been with anyone since Suki? Or have you?"

"Uh…" Sokka's eyes shifted at Zuko before returning to his meal. "Nope. No one."

"Don't you think, maybe… you should try dating someone?" Zuko asked, with an awkward smile. "It could be good for you…"

"Dating someone?" Sokka repeated, with a light grin. "Yeah, well… I'm not sure I need to date anyone right now, but thanks, Zuko. Though you really don't have to worry about my love life when yours is so complicated, pal."

"Mine's not complicated, what's complicated is being Fire Lord," Zuko sighed. "B-but anyways, Sokka…"

"Yeah, must suck being Fire Lord," Sokka nodded. "So much to think about, so many problems to solve, and even then, you're trying to help me. You're way too nice this morning, Zuko, but you probably shouldn't be? I'm fine as I am, buddy, I promise."

"But…"

His protests would go interrupted when a new arrival stepped across the dining room… or stumbled across it, actually. Both Sokka and Zuko glanced quickly towards the archway, and Sokka even jumped to his feet, upon glimpsing Azula clasping the wall as she awkwardly made her way to the table.

"Azula?!" Zuko exclaimed, staring at her in astonishment. Sokka had raised a hand as though to help her, but upon noticing his gesture, the Princess raised her own as though to stop him: instead, Sokka wound up sliding his fingers through his hair, eyeing her worriedly. "What… what's going on? Are you okay?"

"I… shouldn't have taken up Mai and Ty Lee's invitation for a night of drinks in town…" Azula explained, stepping closer to the table. "I don't even remember… half of what happened? Don't ever drink enough to black out if you can avoid it, Zuzu…"

"You need help…?" Sokka offered, and Azula smiled.

"Gallant, but no. I'll make it to the table on my own, thank you very much…" she said, supporting herself on the many chairs around the table until she finally found a seat before which still stood a full breakfast waiting to be eaten. "Ugh, I'm not quite hungry, but… I know I should eat."

Sokka only sat down again after Azula did the same safely, groaning still as she tried to ignore the lingering pain. Zuko eyed her warily, as she sat only one chair away from him, holding her head up with a hand.

"Was it… fun, at least?" Zuko asked, with a small voice.

"I wish I knew," Azula smiled. "Might be I met my heart's true desire last night and I just forgot completely."

"No way!" Zuko laughed off, and Azula raised her eyebrows at his reaction at first, until she frowned again over the headache. "I mean, you wouldn't forget something that important, would you?"

"You underestimate the amount of alcohol I drank," Azula said, bluntly. Sokka could only laugh across the table. "What's so funny to you, Upstanding Ambassador?"

"I'm just wondering if you're blocking it all because you did something embarrassing. Like… I don't know, danced on a pub's tables? Or sang the whole repertoire of one of the Ember Island Players' musical theater plays…?"

"Ugh! No way I did anything that stupid!" Azula said. "I… hope."

"Fine, fine," Sokka laughed. "Though, you know? I think I know of a hangover remedy. I can ask the kitchen staff to fix you one, if you need it."

"Hmm… if the food doesn't fix this, I'll appreciate that," Azula said. Sokka grinned.

"No prob!"

Such a simple, friendly exchange… and yet they weren't simply teasing each other: Azula was willing to accept Sokka's help. She seldom was ready to accept anyone's assistance, but while she had changed over the years, this was unexpected… in the best of ways.

Only, Zuko's excitement over the matter had to be quite obvious, for he suddenly realized Sokka was staring at him… judgmentally, it seemed. Zuko froze, swallowing hard before returning to his own meal. Oh, Sokka would think he was going mad, wouldn't he…? But he wasn't. He knew what he was doing, and he'd get it done: his sister would be happy, and no longer lonely, and Sokka himself would appreciate it greatly once Zuko's deed was done.

"Eh… I'll go get your order in already, just in case," Sokka told Azula, smiling awkwardly before rising from the table.

He shot Zuko another strange stare as he made his way to the kitchens, while Zuko tapped his food with his chopsticks as a scolded child might. But once Sokka was gone…

"You, uh, really think you might have met someone last night?" Zuko asked.

"Didn't you hear I don't remember anything?" Azula said. "And why are you taking so long finishing your food? Need someone else to fill in your shoes while you waste your valuable time in the dining room, Fire Lord?"

"I decided today would be a lighter day for me, that's all," Zuko said, raising his hands defensively. "And I'm just saying… I'd be fine with it if you do meet someone, Azula. If you ever find someone who makes you happy…"

"And how would that be any of your business…?" Azula asked, rubbing her brow before casting Zuko a quick glare from the corner of her eyes. "This better not mean you're planning to marry me off to some foolish noble you need to get along with…"

"No! Never! I'd never do something so awful to you!" Zuko exclaimed. Azula huffed.

"I should hope so. I've said I won't be a threat for your rule anymore, but if you try something like that, I absolutely won't keep my promise," she said, sipping her morning tea.

"That's not my point, I'm just saying…" Zuko said, gritting his teeth. "That I haven't been very supportive of you for years, so I thought I'd change that, if I could…"

"Pfft, I'm perfectly used to our rhythm and relationship as it is. I don't need a doting, protective older brother… and I don't need to date anyone either, if that's what you were about to say next," Azula smiled dryly. "You have enough to worry about as it is, Zuzu. I'll live my life, you live yours."

Zuko scowled, watching bitterly as Azula continued eating without a care in the world… and his outrage only increased further once Sokka returned, setting the hangover cure by her tea.

"Hmm, thought you'd be gone already, Zuko," Sokka said, eyeing Zuko's plates. "You're almost finished eating, right?"

"Right," Zuko huffed, shooting a quick glare at Azula. "Well? Won't you drink your hangover cure?"

"I… guess," Azula mumbled. "Thank you for bringing it, Sokka."

"Don't mention it," Sokka grinned, returning to his seat "Though… it tastes like hell. Just so you know."

"Ugh… fascinating," Azula said, bringing the drink to her lips and grimacing noticeably once she tasted it. "Oh, hell, are you trying to kill me, savage?!"

"Not at all! I tell you, it works!" Sokka laughed.

"It's disgusting!" Azula roared, setting it down again and focusing on the food instead.

Zuko huffed, eating quickly as he pondered the situation some more. Both Azula and Sokka were adamant that they didn't need a relationship, didn't need his meddling, and that he had much bigger problems to worry about. Well… maybe they were right, but his dream wasn't wrong, he was sure of it. And clearly, going by all their arguing, they were still completely unaware of the fact that they were a perfect match. Yet… Sokka's willingness to help Azula was a good starting sign. While Zuko guessed it'd take a long time before they finally saw things his way, maybe he should focus on the positives and not lose hope: Sokka wasn't in a relationship, neither was Azula, and as much as they bickered, they likely were fond of each other on some level… for Azula wouldn't even acknowledge his existence if she didn't like him at all. So, there was still hope, if just a sliver of it. He could do this. He absolutely could do this…

It took him a few hours to come up with a solid plan, one that would once again show Azula how reliable Sokka was. The first stage of the plan was to ask all servants and Kyoshi Warriors to stay clear off the roofed, open corridor that led to the communications tower in the Palace for about thirty minutes, around noon. Once that was done, he snuck there, picked up one of the wall's lanterns, and shattered its oil compartment: he dropped the damaged lamp on the floor, watching with approval as the liquid spread across the corridor, all the way to the corner that led to the tower. Perfect.

After that, he hid in nearby bushes, watching quietly, knowing they'd arrive sooner than later: Sokka always had the routine to ship off his mail, whether to Republic City or to the South Pole, at these hours. As for Azula, Zuko sent her a message with a servant, asking her to give him a hand by sending some documents he allegedly didn't have time to ship off to the outer islands himself. It was a childish plan, he supposed, but it was bound to work anyways…

Sokka appeared first, and Zuko smirked: the pool of oil had spread across an intersection of two corridors, and there was no way either of them would be able to cross the halls that led to the communications tower if they didn't walk by that very intersection. He had known Sokka would come from the one where he had dropped the lantern, and Azula was set to arrive through the other corridor any second now…

The acrid smell of the oil brought Sokka out of his ruminations and papers: he raised his head to find the shattered lantern, and the pool of oil, right before his eyes.

"Woah… that's a weird accident," he said out loud, before stepping carefully towards the pool of oil.

He appeared to want to pick up the lantern, perhaps to inspect if it was damaged beyond repair or if he might have a chance to patch it up. And then… footsteps. A new set of them, down the other hall. Zuko's smirk widened as he glimpsed his sister's silhouette: she was as focused on her papers as Sokka had been, but the lantern wasn't within her line of sight, and with any luck the scent wouldn't reach her until she was too close to slow down, and then…

Then Sokka would have to jump out, wrapping his arms around her, ensuring she wouldn't slip and fall on the floor. And once he rescued her from what could have been a terribly dangerous fall, Azula would finally understand just how reliable Sokka was… she would fall in love with him before she even knew it! It was perfect!

She was so close now, a couple more steps… Sokka was already reacting, his eyes wide as he realized those footsteps meant someone might slip and fall over the oil…

"STOP!"

Zuko froze. Azula did, too, with a start.

Sokka gritted his teeth as he traversed the oil pool carefully, ensuring to step on as little of it as possible, before glancing over the corner to discover the person he had just saved from a bad slip over the oil was none other than Azula. She raised her eyebrows questioningly once their eyes met, and he smiled awkwardly, running a hand over his hair, before pointing at the pool of oil at his feet.

"This lantern broke for some reason? There's oil all over the place," he said.

"Oh… I see," Azula took a step back, eyeing the zone of disaster with confusion. "No wonder I thought it smelled like oil. Can you call someone to clean this up? I was supposed to send some mail…"

"I'm supposed to send some too, but this mess could be dangerous for anyone who walks around here," Sokka admitted, scratching the back of his head. "I'll go send mine after you're done, I'll take care of this…"

"I can send yours for you, if you want," Azula suggested, stretching a hand towards Sokka. He blinked blankly before grinning.

"That'd be a lot of help! Thanks, Azula!" he said, handing her his letters by stretching over the pool of oil until Azula could take the documents in her hands. "I'll go get someone to clean up right away, then."

"No problem. Try to be quick about it," Azula said, making a point to avoid the oil… and restarting her way to the communications tower indeed.

Leaving a frustrated Zuko to fume within the bushes he'd been hiding in. Great. Just… great. The one time he didn't want them to communicate like rational people to resolve their problems was the one time they decided to do it. Leave it to those two to sabotage his every enterprise, whether consciously or not…

Oh, but he wasn't done. He wasn't anywhere near done. Azula and Sokka were in for a surprise or many, depending on how many of his plans they forced him to enact.

* * *

"You called, Zuko?" Sokka's voice drifted from the door of Zuko's office at sundown. Zuko turned with a bright grin, perhaps too bright, for Sokka gave him that awkward stare again. "Uh… Zuko? You okay, buddy?"

"I was hoping you'd come. I have… a favor to ask you," he said, beaming as he picked up a package that had been resting on his desk. Sokka raised his eyebrows, puzzled. "It's for Azula."

"For… Azula? You bought her a gift?" Sokka asked.

"Well… yeah, but I don't want her to know it's from me," Zuko said. "I want you to give it to her? But, remember, no telling her it's from me. I… am just trying to do what you always told me, you know? Make efforts to repair the burned bridges and whatever figures of speech you used…?"

"I guess I did say that, but… what's the point of buying her a gift and not telling her it's from you?" Sokka asked. "How's that going to help?"

"If I'm not eager to take credit, she'll think my efforts are more genuine," Zuko said, with his practiced response, the one he'd decided on giving Sokka as he pondered how this encounter would unfold. "I think you two are getting along pretty well lately, right? So…"

"Are we?" Sokka asked, with an awkward smile. "I thought the incident with the hangover cure at breakfast yesterday would make her hate me forever? Is it your sister's fine with people who get her to drink things she hates?"

"No, but I meant…" Zuko started, but he held back: he couldn't reveal he had seen the lantern incident, the report he'd received about it merely stated Sokka had dealt with the matter, and Azula wasn't mentioned at all. As far as Sokka was concerned, he wouldn't have known they met at all, unless he had been there, too… "I meant you two could sit together and have breakfast anyway. It's good progress."

"Uh-huh…" Sokka said, skeptical again. Zuko snarled.

"Just give her the gift! And don't tell her I sent it!" he said, pushing the luxurious box into Sokka's arms.

"Fine, fine, whatever you say," Sokka sighed.

Zuko waited shortly before following Sokka across the Palace's corridors yet again. He moved stealthily, cautiously, hiding behind every statue that could conceal him, waiting patiently whenever Sokka got distracted, or whenever he glanced back, as though aware that someone was chasing after him. Finally, though, he reached Azula's room and knocked the door…

In a matter of five seconds or so, the door swung open. Zuko bit his thumb, watching them impatiently as Azula appeared to stare at Sokka with utmost confusion.

"Hey! Uh, someone sent you this," he said, simply, biting his lip. Zuko grimaced, hoping that'd be enough for Azula to mistake Sokka for being the one responsible for the gesture…

"Someone? What sort of prank is this?" Azula asked, skeptical, raising her hand to brush her bangs from her face elegantly.

"It's… hopefully, not a prank? To be honest, I should've checked the inside myself…" Sokka admitted, tugging the bindings of the box loose. Azula raised an eyebrow, watching him cautiously. "It's probably nothing that bad, but I can't be sure…"

"Are you unfamiliar with the sender? Took up a job delivering packages on the side? Here I thought being an ambassador paid well…"

"It does," Sokka smiled. "I'm just doing someone a favor, that's all…"

"Someone?" Azula repeated, skeptical.

Oh, it was working. It was absolutely working, she'd see the gift and assume it was Sokka's. Everything would go exactly as planned this time, Zuko was sure of it…!

"Alright… step back, in case there's some weird explosive?" Sokka smiled at Azula. She scoffed.

"I can control an explosion with my bending if need be. Just do it," she said. Sokka shrugged and obeyed.

He raised the lid of the gift's box only to find a silken dress with blue colors and white highlights. Azula raised an eyebrow, and Sokka's jaw dropped: it looked like a Water Tribe-themed dress, for sure. And the only Water Tribe person in the Palace, at the moment, was standing right next to Azula. Surely, all the suspicion would fall to him…

"Woah," Sokka said, scratching his head. "That's… fancy. Way fancier than any of my tribe's clothes…"

"Is that so?" Azula asked. Zuko nearly jumped in glee: she didn't believe him! She didn't! Had he succeeded this time, for sure…? "Well… to be honest, assuming you sent this would imply you have great taste in clothes, so…"

"Hey! I DO have great taste in clothes, mind you, and… wait, that sounds like you like it? A blue outfit, Princess? You're sure? People might start thinking you like my culture of savages, eh, eh?"

"No one would assume that, the color may be similar to your tribe's traditional colors, but the cut, and the design, are completely Fire Nation," Azula explained, unfolding the dress gently. "So, the question is… who has the means to commission a dress as fancy as this one, and request one of the most uncommon dye colors in the Fire Nation for it?"

"Eeeeh…" said Sokka, with an awkward smile.

"Not you, that's who," Azula said, sighing and shaking her head. "Whatever. Thank you for bringing it anyway."

"Not a problem," Sokka grinned, offering her a thumbs up after he handed the box to the Princess. "See you around!"

Azula nodded, and Sokka walked away. And Zuko was left crouching by the statue he'd been hiding behind, snarling yet again: why did it have to be so difficult? If he didn't know better, he'd assume they were making fun of him by playing dumb to this extent… ugh, it was infuriating.

But again, he wasn't done: something would work eventually. There was no way the two smartest people he knew would be this thickheaded and this resistant to the obvious, blatant, clear fact that they were MEANT for each other…

* * *

Another council meeting should be another opportunity to make the Fire Nation a better place, if Zuko was asked… but that's not how reality worked. Instead, it was merely another chance for his lords and military heads to continue antagonizing each other, constantly attempting to prove they were the most talented, the most loyal, the most impressive of his subjects. Getting anything done was, actually, as good as impossible.

Azula eyed him warily once the meeting was adjourned, waiting for him to climb off the throne, looking more drained than ever.

"Are they really getting to you that badly?" she asked. Zuko sighed and shrugged.

"I guess?" he said. "It's a drag. I thought we could make things better, you know? That a new era would begin with my rule, and it has, but… I could do so much more if I didn't have to go through so many protocols for even the smallest project."

"I suppose, but that's the way it works," Azula shrugged. "You need to learn how to slither through the cracks to achieve whatever you're setting out to do, Zuko. Most political challenges can't be handled through straightforward means, you understand…"

"I know, but it sucks," he groaned. "I… guess I just need to relax."

"What? Not getting it on enough with Suki lately?" Azula teased him. "Don't tell me you've already bored her…"

"N-no! That's not…! You shouldn't even ask that sort of stuff!" Zuko exclaimed, blushing. "Though… well, Suki's pretty busy most the time organizing patrols and working to keep the Palace safe. And ever since we got together, well…"

"You deliberately spend less time together in public so you won't alarm the wrong people about your relationship, I know," Azula recited, nodding. "You just want to see more of her, then?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm not that unreasonable, I know it can't always happen," Zuko sighed. "When I said I needed to relax, I meant more like… the royal spa?"

"Ah… sure," Azula said, nodding. "I guess you could visit it more often."

"You go a lot, right?" Zuko said. "In the mornings? Or do you go in the evenings? I just want to make sure I don't go at the same time as you, could be awkward and all…"

"So considerate," Azula said, raising an eyebrow. "I tend to go at ten in the morning, and I stay for around an hour, if you really must know."

"Cool. I'll go at eleven, not ten. Eleven, not ten. Eleven, not ten…" Zuko started, stepping towards the throne room's archway. Azula scoffed as she watched him leave.

"Keep saying that, and you'll end up mixing up the times!" Azula growled.

"I wouldn't do that! It's not at ten, but at eleven!" Zuko said, nodding. "See? I got it! Totally got it!"

Azula's judgmental glare followed Zuko, he could tell… but he could also tell she wouldn't see the mischievous smirk on his face as he left the premises, knowing exactly where he'd go next.

Sokka was training with a sword in the palace grounds when Zuko came across him. He smiled and waved at the Fire Lord, who grinned innocently right back at him.

"Say, Sokka… have you been to the royal spa lately?" Zuko asked him, once Sokka lowered his sword.

"Oh, hello, Zuko! Nice to see you too!" Sokka teased him. Zuko rolled his eyes.

"I just haven't been going often lately, is all," he continued. Sokka huffed. "It's a little weird, getting into that habit, but I think it'll help. I haven't been feeling like myself lately…"

"Yeah… you're a bit off," Sokka admitted, smiling awkwardly. "I don't really use it much, myself, but why do you ask?"

"Just thought it might be a little less awkward if I go with someone I can chat with?" Zuko said, smiling weakly.

"Really? But you've never been all that talkative" Sokka chuckled: Zuko's stomach, of course, sank. "Oh well, I guess that's why you don't like the spa, because you have no one to talk with while the procedures are being done? I suppose I can help, then, but… why me and not Suki?"

"Suki is probably busy at the only hour of the day I can afford to do this" Zuko said "I'd much rather go with her too, you know? But what can I do…? Besides, the staff members might suspect, and then everyone will know…"

"Zuko, I'm pretty sure most people already know about you two," Sokka smirked. Zuko flinched.

"Well, but it isn't official! Just rumors!" he pouted. "And I'm not ready to go public yet, neither is she. So… you know, I'd rather keep suspicions to a minimum."

"Whatever you say, whatever you say…" Sokka sighed. "What time do you want me to be there, then?"

"At ten?" Zuko smiled, again with a hint of mischief he couldn't quite contain. And it grew stronger when Sokka merely nodded positively.

"Alright. Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, let's see how it goes for one day, right?" Zuko said, casually. "Keep up the good work."

"Sure! Thanks!" Sokka grinned.

Oh, at this point he'd do better not to have high hopes, but he crossed his fingers and begged the universe inwardly to allow this one to bear some kind of fruit. If only they stopped resisting so much, damn it all… this was for their own good! It was worse than trying to get a toddler to swallow medicine, really…

On the next morning, his hiding place was the outside the Palace building itself: he stood in the gardens, surveilling the spa from a large window that allowed a perfect view of the spa's doors. He stood in place, ten minutes in advance, waiting patiently, clad in an inconspicuous black robe with a hood that should conceal his identity and hide him in a shroud of darkness, even if his sister or friend noticed he was around… he bit his lip, waiting still, knowing they'd both arrive eventually – Azula hated being late to any appointments, and Sokka wasn't the type to reject any chances to laze around and be pampered.

If all went well, they'd enter the spa together. Perhaps they'd bond… perhaps they'd do more than that, an idea that, despite Zuko's resolve to accept his sister's love life was none of his concern, was slightly unnerving to consider. All things considered, though, the two of them were too smart, and fully aware of how dangerous it could be to take a relationship too far while unprepared. They knew self-restraint, of course they did. They would, at most, go as far as to kiss… and then they'd decide on how to progress with their relationship in a responsible manner, until they eventually chose to marry, and by the time the wedding happened, everyone would be laughing as they shared the story of how their relationship began because Zuko, oh, silly Zuko, had given Sokka the wrong time for a spa visit, and Sokka had attended it with Azula instead…

Busy imagining such a joyous occasion, Zuko was snapped out of his daydream suddenly when a shadow crossed his line of sight: he shrank instinctively, but then glanced through the window once more… it was Azula. Good. If she went in now, Sokka would follow, neither knowing the other was inside, and then…!

Azula had reached for the doorknob but stopped cold suddenly… glancing at her left. Zuko grimaced. That couldn't be good.

With difficulty, he pushed the window open lightly, just enough to hear any conversations within that hallway, not enough to make noticeable noise, while watching as Azula toyed with a strand of her hair…

"… You're here? Why?"

"Uh… because Zuko told me he wanted to meet up with me for a visit to the spa? He told me to come at ten…"

"Ugh, the Dum-Dum mixed up the time, exactly what I told him he'd do! I warned him if he kept being foolish he'd end up coming here at the same time I did and… ugh, what would you do if you had a brother as forgetful as mine, Sokka?"

"Probably take advantage of that forgetfulness and prank him until he lost his mind?"

"That… isn't half bad an idea, actually. Good thinking."

"Anyway, I'm thinking Zuko just told me ten but meant eleven? You can go ahead, I'll wait for him out here."

"Thank you. Whenever he shows up, please kick him in the shin for me."

"Sure thing!"

Zuko huffed: this was impossible. They were impossible! What the hell was that?! They'd just respectfully chosen to go separately to the spa?! What was wrong with them?!

Oh, it was the last straw. He couldn't take it anymore. He was too young for all this stress, his hair would turn white, his heart was going to fail him… he couldn't stand it. He felt humiliated, despite no one had mocked him directly, but it seriously appeared as though those two knew exactly what they were doing to him. And he was definitely not amused.

"Screw it. Screw them, this is just…!" he rambled, shutting the window quietly again as he snarled. "They don't deserve each other! That's the truth! They want to die alone, fine, they can just go ahead and do that! I'm tired of trying to do right by anyone, it's a complete waste of…!"

"Zuko?"

He nearly screamed upon hearing someone addressing him directly. He didn't manage to hold back a light yelp, and a jump… as he turned to look at Suki. Who stood behind him, her Kyoshi Warrior uniform as impeccable as ever, her unyielding scowl judging Zuko as harshly as could be.

"U-uh, I… I can explain," he said.

"Right! You certainly should explain why you're sneaking around your own palace, dressed in a black hood as though you were a criminal, breaking into the place!" Suki smiled sardonically, crossing her arms over her chest. "For a minute there I seriously thought I should fling my katana at you. Be grateful I reconsidered and decided to figure out who you were, first."

"Sorry! I didn't meant to… ugh, Suki, it's just…" Zuko said, tense. "You know what it is."

"Uh, no, I certainly don't," she said, dryly.

"Well, you were there! You know, when I had that dream?" Zuko said. Suki's face was a mask of confusion until realization sank in. "Y-you know, the one about…?"

"About Sokka and Azula?" Suki finished, and her confusion was only further enhanced… while paired with not a moderate amount of outrage. "Zuko… have you lost your mind?!"

"I… hey! I'm fine, I'm not crazy, I'm just…!"

"Tell me, right now, that you didn't spend the last three days being so scarce, so distracted, disregarding your duties, simply because you were coming up with every strategy you could think of to matchmake those two without their awareness."

Zuko opened his mouth, and then closed it. Suki released a breath, covering her face with her hands as Zuko started chortling awkwardly.

"I-it's not that bad, is it?! I mean…! They get along enough that if they just give each other a chance, they'll see…!"

"Zuko: it's THEIR lives!" Suki exclaimed, stepping up to him and grabbing his shoulders. "You can't just try to manipulate people into doing whatever you want them to! That's not you, that never was you! For crying out loud, Zuko, just… be reasonable, can you? Whatever you saw in your dream doesn't give you the right to interfere in two people's lives this way!"

"But I'm not doing it to hurt them!" Zuko exclaimed, acutely aware that he sounded like a child throwing a tantrum. "Look, I just…! I want Sokka and Azula to be happy the way I am with you! I never imagined I'd care this much, but it turns out I do! And I know I sound and look like I'm losing my mind, but I just really think this could make their lives so much better! My sister has been through so much, Sokka appears to have outright given up on love because it never works for him… isn't it a good idea to help them regain hope through each other?"

"It's not a bad idea, no. But it's not up to you to decide this, Zuko," Suki sighed, taking his face in her hands. "And all this sneaking around… it's not going to help."

"I know. I know…" Zuko sighed, lowering his gaze.

Yes, the sneaking around probably was only hurting his cause further. But maybe that was the extent of the problem… maybe he just had to stop beating around the bush, and tell the pair of fools the truth, blunt and honest. If he did, surely they'd understand… hopefully, they'd test the waters of a relationship together, and that was all he really needed and wanted from them. Everything else was secondary.

"You need something else to focus on other than work, I bet," Suki sighed. "And that's why you're so hung up on this. We'll find you another hobby, Zuko, a less troublesome one than matchmaking…"

"Fine, but… I'll tell them both the truth," Zuko said, startling Suki.

"You'll… what?"

"Tell them, outright. I know they'll be the ones to decide what to do, I get it, they might say I'm crazy and that they never want to be with each other…" Zuko sighed. "But even then, I think I should tell them what I think, let them know I'm okay with it… if that makes sense."

"Well, I suppose it is better than sneaking around," Suki sighed, shaking her head. "You be careful though, Zuko. Make it clear you're not forcing anything on them, and that you just want to help. And if they reject that help, you'll put this aside, and go on with your life. Are we clear?"

"We're clear," he said. Suki sighed, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

"I know you mean no harm. I hope they'll know it too. Just… you're too good for your own good sometimes, Zuko," Suki said, caressing his cheek. Zuko sighed, wrapping his arms around her body and dropping his head on her shoulder. "Though… well, I know I started it, but we probably shouldn't be doing this in broad daylight, should we…?"

"Meh," Zuko said, tightening his hold around her. "Just a little longer…"

She helped him ground himself, that was a certainty. With Suki's comforting presence he could come back to his senses, perhaps, and understand he'd gone too far… and that he needed to stay in his lane from now on. It was the best thing to do, the best way to proceed…

But first, he'd tell them the truth. And he knew the chance to do so would arrive within an hour.

* * *

"Ah, if it isn't the fancy Fire Lord, the guy who gives me the wrong time for our big spa visit!" Sokka announced, as Zuko entered the spa's corridor, five minutes before Azula's hour was up. "I nearly went in there with Azula instead, you know? She's still inside, but I think we can go after she's…"

"Sokka. We need to talk."

Sokka blinked blankly, his hand still gesturing at the spa's door. Those words were quite ominous, Zuko supposed, but perhaps if Sokka expected something too awful, he'd be much more receptive to the idea of being set up with Azula for a date, at the very least…

"What, exactly, do we need to talk about?" Sokka asked, with a slowly widening awkward grin. "I mean, you said you wanted someone to talk with while you were in the spa, but I didn't think you needed to talk while we're outside it, too…"

"Enough rambling," Zuko said, dismissively. Sokka pouted, hands on his hips. "I have something serious to talk to you about, Sokka. At least, it means a lot to me, and I hope it'll mean something to you too, once I'm done."

"Well, you're not being ominous at all," Sokka said, rolling his eyes. "Is this why you've been acting so weird lately?"

"Yeah. You could say that," Zuko admitted, breathing in. "Look, you… you're one of my best friends. And while I guess you could be satisfied with life as you are living it now, I also think there's a chance you're not satisfied at all, and you just don't want to burden the rest of us with the truth…"

"Uh… I'm not? I mean, thanks for the concern, Zuko, but I'm actually fine…?" Sokka said, eyeing his friend warily.

"Look, I'll just… come out and say it," Zuko said, breathing deeply. "I… had a vision. You were in it. With… someone."

"With someone?" Sokka repeated. "What kind of vision? Are you getting spirit-y visions these days too, kind of like Aang used to? Or is this sort of thing common for you…?"

"I don't know, I don't know, maybe I'm just losing it, maybe dreams are just meant to be dreams but this one spoke so clearly about things that I…! That I never even thought about," Zuko said, looking at Sokka almost pleadingly. "And I think it opened my eyes to the truth that… that there's someone out there who might just be everything you'd needed, Sokka. And if that's how it is, then I… I want to encourage you to go for it, I give you my… my blessing? As weird as it sounds."

"Dude… what the hell is going on here?" Sokka asked, inching away from Zuko warily. "You said you'd come out and say it, well, nothing you've said so far makes sense. Are you telling me I should date, or heck, even MARRY, someone… just because you saw them with me in a vision?"

"Well… yes!" Zuko exclaimed, with full conviction. Sokka's eyes narrowed.

"And… who, exactly, are you talking about?" he said, allowing himself a weak, sarcastic smile as he waited for Zuko's answer "Who's this person I should be with?"

Zuko breathed deeply, wishing he weren't so nervous upon uttering those syllables… but he was strong enough to do it. He hadn't come this far in life by being a coward: he'd absolutely do it.

"I'm talking about… about Azula," Zuko finished.

Sokka froze, his eyes widening in amusing, slow motion. It was as though realization was dawning on him, regarding each and every one of Zuko's actions as of late, and Zuko felt like a fool, but he didn't care. No, if this meant his sister would find peace and happiness, he'd endure whatever Sokka dared throw at –…

Sokka covered his mouth with a hand, and snorted. Zuko's eyebrow twitched.

"Did you just…?"

Another hand, and another chortle. Zuko's outrage was on the rise.

"Sokka?! Are you… are you LAUGHING?!"

There was no containing the Water Tribesman anymore: he dropped his hands and laughed so hard the entire Palace was likely hearing him. He doubled over, hugging his stomach, tears springing in the corners of his eyes…

"Y-you just said…!" he managed to utter, with a threat of a voice before he was overtaken with laughter again. "Oh…! Oh, no, I'm not gonna…! I can't…! I'm… AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

With a strange posture, with his legs awkwardly twisted together, Sokka started jumping away, no doubt suggesting the laughter was strong enough to trigger certain, impulsive, bodily reactions that excessive amusement could sometimes result in. Zuko watched him shrink in the corridor, listening to the ongoing laughs, and shaking his head in outrage.

"YOU KNOW WHAT?! I TAKE IT BACK! YOU DON'T DESERVE THIS! YOU DON'T DESERVE HER! SCREW YOU, SOKKA!" he shouted, impulsively, angry enough that fire danced in his tight fists. Oh, how dared he laugh…? And laugh that loudly, too! Curses, he hoped to get a similar dream soon, of Azula with just about ANYONE else, and then he'd set up those two instead, and Sokka would learn, the bastard…

"And what the hell is the matter with you?"

Zuko froze: he had forgotten, completely, that he was standing at the spa's entrance… and that his sister was merely five minutes away from stepping out of it. Perhaps his outburst had even compelled her to leave sooner, and while her hair was shiny and her skin was bright and clear, her countenance betrayed she was most displeased by Zuko's loud shouting. Zuko swallowed hard, turning towards his sister apologetically.

"I… I'm sorry. Oh, hell, I really am sorry," Zuko growled, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. Azula crooked an eyebrow.

"You're sorry…? Is this a multipurpose apology?" she asked. Zuko flinched and stared at her in chagrin.

"Why would it be a…?"

"Well, you see, I'm still waiting for a lot of apologies from you," Azula confessed, raising her eyebrows. "All the times you tattled on me as children, that time you ate my dessert and claimed it wasn't you, that time you locked me in an asylum, too…"

"H-hey, that's not…! No! I am apologizing for a specific thing here!"

"Ah! Then you truly aren't sorry for any of those things, to this day? Shame on you, Zuzu," Azula said, shaking her head dismissively. Zuko growled.

"I'm sorry because I was doing something I hoped would help you in the long run, but clearly I was wrong!" Zuko huffed. "That bastard… laughing like that? Who the hell told him he had any right to laugh at this?! I actually had to wrap my head around this idea, and to put aside my natural older-brother instincts of disgust at the thought of my sister with anyone, and he just LAUGHS?!"

"Uh… what did you just say?" Azula said, with an awkward smile… not too different from Sokka's own, earlier. "You wrapped your head around the idea that… I could be with someone?"

"I did!" Zuko exclaimed. "And then he just… threw it back in my face! Like an idiot!"

"He? Who's… he? The person you're trying to set me up with?" Azula asked, and her discomfort only seemed to increase. "Or is it just someone you were sharing your marvelous ideas with…?"

"Well… both," Zuko admitted, almost pouting now. "But I'm sorry. He's not worthy of you. Someone who hears about this and laughs like that is just… Ack! I should kick him out of the palace in your behalf…"

"I still have no idea who you're talking about," Azula reminded him. Zuko breathed deeply and huffed to release the air, averting his gaze from Azula's own:

"It's Sokka."

Azula fell silent. Zuko glanced at her quickly, wondering if she'd be disheartened, disappointed that that fool would be so dismissive of her potential as his love inte–…

She covered her mouth with both hands, and snorted.

"What…? WHAT?!" Zuko shouted, and just as before, Azula nearly lost her balance as she was overtaken by the strongest laughter spree he had ever heard from her. "OH, YOU KNOW WHAT?! YOU KNOW WHAT, YOU TWO ASSHOLES, I'M DONE! I'M DONE! SUKI WAS RIGHT, I SHOULD'VE NEVER TRIED TO HELP! YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS HIM! I'M SO DONE WITH THIS! I'M NOT GETTING INVOLVED WITH YOUR PERSONAL LIFE EVER AGAIN, AZULA!"

He stormed off… and her laughter only seemed more intense as he left. Oh, he was seething. He was absolutely seething: what on earth was so funny?! What was wrong with those two?! He couldn't stand it. He had done his best by them, and they had laughed and thrown all his efforts in his face… how could they do this to him? He had been nothing but kind to Sokka, especially after he broke up with Suki, and even more so once Zuko was drawn to her, years later… he had been as generous with Azula as he could be, learning to be more patient, to offer her more opportunities to help run things in the Fire Nation, to find a purpose…!

And yet the pair of bastards had just laughed at him and all his efforts. The worst part was that their damn reactions had been as good as copies of each other: they were, in the end, completely perfect for one another. There was no sense in feeling bad for Azula, not when she had thought the idea of being with Sokka was just as laughable as, apparently, Sokka thought being with her was. So, they truly were as bad as the other… they truly were. It should further confirm they were perfect soulmates! But no, they'd rather just forsake all their chances at finding love… and truthfully? He was done caring. He was absolutely done. They could do whatever they wanted. He wouldn't even THINK about this nonsense anymore…

Or so he intended to convince himself of, but by nighttime, he laid in bed, arms crossed over his chest, still fuming as he went over the morning's events in his head. Suki sighed as she slipped into bed, reaching to massage Zuko's chest gently.

"You do realize you're as good as self-destructing over this, while those two are completely unaffected by what happened?" Suki asked. Zuko huffed and shook his head.

"They'll be affected enough when they die alone. Pair of idiots," he said. "So much for trying to be a good brother for Azula… or a good friend for Sokka. Is it too much to ask that they'd just take the possibility seriously? And I mean, even if they hate the idea, they could just… respectfully say "No, Zuko, I don't think it's a good idea", and that's it! Problem solved! But noooo, they just laughed like the mere image of them together was the most hilarious joke in the history of the world…!"

"I don't really know why they'd laugh that much, Zuko, but dear… I mean it. You need to stop thinking about this," Suki said, cupping his face, her fingers gently touching his scar. "We're all adults here, there's no reason why any of us ought to make choices for anyone else. I'm sorry they were so stupidly rude but…"

"Ugh. It's their loss," Zuko growled, wrapping his arms around his lover and pressing his face to her shoulder. "I just wanted to help, but…"

"Not everyone wants help," Suki reminded him, caressing his hair. "But you do want some, right?"

"What do you mean…?" Zuko mumbled quietly, glancing up at Suki to find her smiling slyly at him.

"I think I have an idea or two on what to do to get this nonsense off your mind…" she whispered, leaning closer, her hand sliding lower than his chest…

And she was right about that idea, for sure: Zuko smiled for what felt like the first time in the entire week, taking her into his arms…

* * *

Sweat trailed between the heated bodies that swayed, thrusted, shifted together. Their rhythm only accelerated, despite her body was already weakened by a previous release… but her lover was not only generous, but resilient. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, thrusting harder as he leaned over her, nibbling on her neck, kissing her cheek whenever he eased up, embracing her from behind while relentlessly driving and plowing forward. She held herself upright with difficulty, her elbows trembling, same as her spread legs…

"I'm close… I'm close…!"

"Come for me, then… Just for me…"

Words spoken with a throaty growl sent her very soul reeling: the hand that had been fondling one of her breasts now snuck lower, finding her clit and prodding it mercilessly: cries of blissful desperation tumbled from her lips, and there was no holding on, no endurance that could withstand the rushing onslaught of pleasure. And yet she knew he wasn't done: no, he didn't like finishing this way. She shuddered and nearly collapsed, but he held her closely anyway, groaning as her walls squeezed him delightfully.

"That's it… that's my girl…"

Anyone else saying those words would have been outrageous, but not him. He tore down all her defenses, all her dignity and decorum, and she damn near thanked him for it: it was blissful to let go of all pretenses, to bare herself fully to someone, for she knew he was doing the same with her, too. As soon as this had started between them, the whole world had started taking a different shape… as though they were seeing it with clear eyes, for the very first time. As though each of their matching heartbeats resounded together, dismissing every hint of fog that sought to hinder their hearts until they had found their true selves upon finding each other…

He withdrew, but not completely: only enough to turn her around, so she could lie upon his bed's many disorderly sheets, cushions and pillows. She looked luxuriously beautiful amidst them all, her hair an unkempt mess that guaranteed she'd need another royal hair-combing on the next morning, as it ever did…

"Azula…" he whispered, setting her down carefully: only his tip lingered inside her, as his face hovered inches from her own.

Her weak arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him in for a long kiss, in which they exchanged long, throaty groans, and their tongues caressed and toyed together as much as they pleased. Wordlessly, she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer, forcing him to enter her fully again… this time, facing her. He'd definitely finish now, the way he always liked to.

"Make love to me, Sokka…" Azula said, her voice weak between so many heartfelt kisses. "I'm yours… I'm yours…"

He groaned in response and thrusted: she whimpered and moaned, and he thrusted again and again, regaining his lost rhythm in her, following suit with her rolling hips. They joined their bodies powerfully, delighted by the synched thrills that coursed under their skin…

So powerful he was, so strong with that physique worthy of a god, that he knew exactly how to hold back, how to last longer, as long as he could until she came undone around him at least one more time… and she was close to doing so, so overcome by pleasure she couldn't help but show him her most honest façade, with no lies, no deceit, no masks to hide away who she truly was… or what he truly meant for her.

Just so, he showed her his deepest self, the devoted protector, the man who only thought of others ahead of himself. The one who couldn't ever seem to think of his own pleasure, for he was that set on providing as much of it as he could to her. So many underestimated him, failing to see just how strong, how soulful he could be… but not her. She knew him, saw him for who he was, and loved him just as much as he loved her.

And so every kiss they shared was a blissful height, just as every chance to link their bodies, every caress they exchanged, brought their hearts further together, blending the limits and boundaries that existed between them, as though they were becoming but one soul, one being…

His release was impending: he let her catch her breath for mere seconds before trapping her lips again, thrusting as frantically as she did, both their bodies as good as melting together once a resounding, potent climax tore through their systems, nearly powerful enough to break their kiss… only nearly. He held on, wanting to feel her, every inch of her, and she clung to him just as well, her nails raking his back, her pelvis meeting his own with the power of their desperate thrusts.

They didn't slow down their kisses, not even when their rolling hips finally eased to a halt. Their exciting bliss lingered, as good as blinding them to anything else in the world… to the mess they'd made of the fancy bed – the servants had given both of them the stink-eye for that often, as they switched between meeting in his or her room. There was no doubt in either of their minds that the evidence of their transgressions was too obvious for the maids' eyes: they knew what the two of them they were doing… and even then, they had kept their silence, fortunately.

Or, at least, they had thought it was a fortunate thing until today. Perhaps the events of that morning had a hand in the wild tryst they'd just indulged in… but even now, a sudden burst of laughter crossed Azula's face, and Sokka didn't even need to ask what was so funny: he simply joined her too, kissing her brow softly as he indulged in the beautiful, blissful sound of her voice.

"I… I can't believe we were hiding all along… thinking he'd make such a fuss if he knew, and instead…" Azula started, before a strong spree of laughter overtook her anew.

"It's not entirely his fault that he was so clueless. You just made a very convincing hungover Princess that other morning, who would've thought you could barely walk for a much more exciting reason…?" Sokka teased her, kissing her deeply, taking advantage of her ongoing laughter to taste her smiles fully, and respond to them with his own. "I'm sorry you had to drink that mess of a hangover cure unnecessarily, though. I really thought he'd have left before I returned with it…"

"Well, you owe me seven more rounds of this before I can forgive you for that," Azula declared, haughtily. Sokka snorted.

"I thought we had agreed the fee for my terrible crime was ten orgasms, not ten rounds…" he said, nibbling on her lower lip. Azula snickered.

"Absolutely not. Ten rounds, full rounds. No half-assing it, my handsome stud," she said, slapping his asscheek lightly, and yet the spanking sound seemed to resound across his room.

Sokka laughed, kissing her again, repeatedly, a thousand times if he could. Oh, he'd give her ten rounds… and then ten more. And then a million, and even more than that… his ever-growing love for her overwhelmed him, and he was decidedly addicted to showing how much he cherished her physically. If only he could stay in bed with her for a whole week… no, even that wouldn't be enough. For a lifetime, at best… and even then, he'd want her again, on the next one, and on the next. Their very souls were bonded together, and that was how he wanted them to remain, for good…

"It's just so funny because… the maids always know," Azula interrupted his spree of kisses and train of thought, dragging her hands lavishly over his back.

"Most of the servants figured us out forever ago," Sokka confirmed, laughing. "And Toph… she knows too. I told you she started messing with me by mentioning you suggestively ever since that day at Air Temple Island…"

"Heh. And somehow your sister still hasn't unraveled the truth," Azula smirked. "I bet Toph outright told her about us and she decided it was impossible."

"Yeah, sounds like both of them," Sokka acknowledged, grinning. "But apparently our code worked perfectly, right? The hair thing… seems Zuko never even noticed it's our special warning for every suspicious situation, right?"

"He'd never be sharp enough to understand our superior intellects, are you really surprised?" Azula smirked, still basking in the sensual strength of his muscular back. "The question is, though… how, exactly, are we going to break this to Zuko now…?"

"Yeah, well…" Sokka said, chortling again, laughing as he pressed his brow to hers. "I seriously thought he'd want to kill me. I never imagined he'd… say he'd even give us his blessing?"

"He told you that?" Azula laughed. Sokka smiled and shrugged.

"Your brother's a bit silly, but I guess he does mean well. And… your question still stands," Sokka said, raising his eyebrows. "How will we tell him we've been going at it like rabaroos for about…"

"Five years?" Azula finished, closing her eyes with a proud smile. Sokka snorted and laughed against her chest. "I don't know how he never suspected it, frankly. You literally congratulated him and Suki, didn't even look like it bothered you at all once they told us…"

"Yeah…" Sokka smiled. "Because it didn't. As soon as I got close to you, I knew where I belonged. And it's right here, with you."

"Hmm, not necessarily here," Azula teased him. "You were looking into whatever excuse you could to spend time in the Fire Nation once we got started… and when Zuko asked me to be his representative in Republic City, you just happened to move there too. And now, oh, how shocking, you became ambassador for the Water Tribe in the Fire Nation exactly a week after I was brought back home… so, well, it can be anywhere, as long as we're together."

"Exactly," Sokka grinned, pressing a soft kiss to her upper breast. "You're my home. I'll chase after you wherever you may go."

"Sounds good to me, because you're mine too," she whispered, slipping her fingers through his smooth, loose hair. "Though that still doesn't answer how we'll ever tell him the truth."

"Hmm. How about we tell him we thought things over and realized he was right, and…"

"And let him believe he set us up successfully? Oh, but that's too considerate towards him…" Azula smirked. Sokka laughed against her chest again, shaking his head. "No, no, no. Letting him think he discovered we're soulmates when we first realized and acted upon it five years ago is just no fun."

"I guess," Sokka chuckled. "He was just so outraged…"

"Well, if he wants us together so badly, he should be thrilled once he finds out that we are," Azula smiled. Sokka grinned mischievously at her. "Regardless of how he finds out. Or what we say to explain…"

"We should just upfront announce our wedding," Sokka decided. Azula snorted and laughed yet again. "Oh, you think it's funny? C'mon, don't play coy now, you said you'd marry me…"

"I'm just imagining his face if we show up at breakfast tomorrow and blatantly announce we're engaged," Azula laughed, tightening her embrace around her also-laughing lover. "Though it's probably not a great idea, he'll assume we're making fun of him again…"

"He always assumes that. Your brother is hopeless," Sokka smiled. "Well, you know what? I think… we just have to stop hiding. As in…"

"Oh, I don't think I'm ready to have sex in a public place, but if you really think that's a good idea…"

"No!" Sokka laughed, shaking his head and kissing her lips. Azula snickered, letting him tickle her in retaliation for her teasing. "I mean… let's just stop avoiding each other or acting as aloof and distant as we usually do during the day. We'll just… walk out of here together in the morning, no sneaking around. Lots of hand-holding, and public displays of affection…"

"And not quite in his face, we would be doing it casually, so people start talking, and rumors reach him…"Azula smiled slowly.

"And then when he sees us being stupidly, embarrassingly romantic, he'll either be smart enough to know we've been at this forever and that we only laughed yesterday because the irony of the situation was overwhelming…" Sokka chuckled. "Or he'll be silly enough to think we got together over our shared laughter at his ideas, and assume he's the entire reason our relationship began."

"Hmm… that is a good idea," Azula said, smirking. "Then, when our wedding arrives, we can talk about how long we've truly been together in our vows… and then he'll lose his shit in the middle of the temple."

"See? Perfect. We always have the best ideas, Azula," Sokka chuckled, kissing her again.

"That's what happens when two ridiculously smart people are as compatible as we are," Azula whispered, trailing her fingers over his cheek. "Ah… I guess a new life begins now, huh? If we'll finally be out in the open about our relationship…"

"Ready for it?" Sokka asked. "I know there will be some backlash, but…"

"But if I'm the trailblazing, controversial royal who marries a foreigner first, it might help Zuko, when his time comes," Azula said, smiling a little. "Putting up with whatever judgment the people may make of us should help everyone prepare for… well, what should come one day, as long as those two stay together."

"Which means, we're even doing them a favor. Perfect," Sokka grinned. "Ah, I can't wait for tomorrow now… pretending I'm single is a pain when all I want to do is scream to the world that I love you."

"I'm glad you feel like doing that…" Azula said, caressing his arm as she pulled him higher on the bed. "Though, well, I can't promise I'll join you in screaming that way. It sounds, eh, a little embarrassing…"

"Just a little?" Sokka asked, prodding her nose with his own playfully. "That's fine by me, if it's really just a little. I'll assume it's the shouting that embarrasses you, and not saying you love me"

"Indeed," Azula grinned, resting her head against his. "Tomorrow, then…?"

"Yeah… we'll see things through by tomorrow," Sokka said, taking her hand in his, to press his lips to her knuckles. "May the world know a Princess has conquered me completely."

"And may the world know a mighty warrior has conquered me," Azula grinned. "I don't really know how big a change this will be… but I think I'm ready for it."

"So am I," Sokka said, leaning close to kiss her softly.

Whether or not their truth would sit well with Zuko once he understood it in full remained to be seen – knowing Azula's overdramatic brother, he'd probably take everything the wrong way, or at least, he would until he saw irrefutable proof that they were happy together… that they had been, for a long time. That they would still be happy, no matter if their families, or friends, or the whole world, weren't ready to accept their love yet. For their bond was theirs, and only the two of them could decide its beginning or end… though, as things stood, the latter was simply unlikely to happen at all.

For in every kiss, in every breath, in every heartbeat they shared, their love was renewed, strengthened, cemented into their hearts and souls. And on the eve of the day that would certainly bring many changes to their lives, it was doubtless that they would continue to spend a lifetime falling in love with each other, drawn together without restraint, finding belonging and peace in each other's light and darkness, weaknesses and strengths, calms and storms alike. And as much as their relationship had already blossomed across five years, it seemed to the two blissful lovers that their journey was only just beginning…

* * *

Zuko smiled brightly as he made his way to his office, after receiving the petitioners of the day and dismissing them with either accepted or rejected requests, depending on how reasonable they might have been. Whether they were unpleasant or not, however, his mood appeared to be impervious to anything right now, all be it the result of the most successful distraction he could have hoped for, on the previous night. He wasn't usually so cheerful, anyone would confirm as much, but Suki certainly had ways to make a brightly happy man out of him, like no one else did…

Though as lost as he was in his own thoughts, delighted by remembering the events from the previous night, he caught the voices of whispering servants just before stepping into a corridor near the gardens.

"… Are you serious? They're really doing that in broad daylight?"

"Why do you think it happened? They always keep their mischief for nighttime, what do you think changed this time?

"Beats me, but I saw what I saw, if you don't believe me you can go watch them yourself…"

"Excuse me?"

The two gossiping servants squealed and squirmed away from him by sheer instinct: the male one appeared to have been the one to witness whatever they were discussing, so Zuko glanced at him.

"Where, exactly, are you saying you saw… whatever you saw?" he asked, with an awkward grin.

"J-just… over there? By the cherry trees you planted last year, Lord Zuko," said the man, swallowing hard as he pointed in the right direction. Zuko smiled and nodded.

"Thank you."

He turned smoothly… and then stormed off at haste. How happy he'd been, his mood completely soothed, his heart rejoicing in the love of his life… and now this. That pair was up to no good again, it had to be them, they had to be doing some sort of wicked scheme together to mock him after he tried to pair them up…!

He stormed through the corridors until the cherry trees in question were in sight. There were a few more onlookers within those corridors, one who sported the familiar Kyoshi Warrior uniform, and beautiful auburn hair. Zuko snuck up to her quickly, placing a hand on the small of her back despite he probably shouldn't have…

"What's going on?" Zuko asked her, unwilling to glance at the trees just yet.

"What's with that face?" Suki asked, teasingly. "And here I thought this was exactly what you wanted…"

Her words gave him pause, and he glanced impulsively at the cherry tree…

To find Sokka and Azula were underneath its shade, sitting comfortably on the ground: Sokka's legs were spread open, enabling Azula to rest against his body, curled against him with a blissful grin on her face. And when petals fell upon her frame, Sokka would fish them out – and she returned the favor too, all between quiet laughter.

"W-what… what is…?" Zuko gasped, his eyes impossibly wide. Suki, beside him, giggled.

"I guess some dreams do come true, Zuko," she said, though she had to loop an arm around his waist quickly when it looked like he might outright lose his balance. "Zuko?"

"Th-those two…" he said, blinking repeatedly, then rubbing his eyes, as though to ensure it wasn't just a dream…

And of course, he couldn't even pretend it was anymore, not when Azula pushed herself a little higher to kiss Sokka fully, boldly, with such shameless abandon it was clear she wanted the whole world to see it. And yet… the intimacy, the way they held each other, suggested that this was no prank, no attempt to make fun of Zuko for his failed attempts to match them on the previous day. No… there was no way they'd smile at each other so earnestly if they weren't serious. He had never seen such a genuine, honest expression on his sister's face… or such a heartfelt, tender one on Sokka's. They only seemed to stop kissing to gaze at each other, and then they merely took to kissing anew, whispering words softly to each other, as though no one else was welcome to intrude… despite, as it was, most everyone in the Palace was either hearing about this or already rushing to see it with their own eyes, much as Zuko had.

"Zuko…?" Suki called him, smiling. "You okay?"

"It… it's fine. I'm fine. I… I was right," he chuckled. "Those two… they do belong together."

"I'm sorry you had to suffer so much to make sure it happened, though," Suki smiled awkwardly. "I still think it would be less rude not to intrude in people's personal lives, but… it didn't turn out so badly, did it?"

Oh, but perhaps it wasn't Zuko's doing, he had to acknowledge as much: the way they acted… it suggested a familiarity, a comfort that wasn't normal in blooming relationships. The way they had laughed the previous day… Zuko had assumed they were ridiculing him. But what if that wasn't it? What if the source of their laughter was actually that their relationship had been happening already, without his awareness, and they were relishing in such an ironic situation?

It was a possibility, most definitely. A rather blissful possibility, in his honest opinion. He'd have to ask them for more details later, he guessed… but as he watched them embracing lovingly, he knew that the most important part had happened already: his sister and his best friend had forged a unique bond, through which they had found true belonging, and genuine happiness. And he could only smile proudly for it, for this was exactly the blissful way of life he had known they could find in each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas, it is done! I thought I'd close my stories with a more humorous oneshot this time, rather than a wildly ambitious one. I honestly hadn't planned on going as crazy as I did with this event... but I regret nothing x'D Writing all these prompts was a blast. I'm grateful to everyone who has been supporting and enjoying my oneshots! I won't deny it, a lot of them warranted being more than oneshots, but because of a certain other fanfiction pursuit that takes over my entire existence, I'd never had the chance to flesh out ideas like Evil Ursa AU, or Azula joins the Gaang AU, or, of course, Aang breaks out of the iceberg many years earlier and saves the world with the parents of the traditional Team Avatar instead. This event presented many opportunities for me to finally put those ideas to good use, and I really think I'm satisfied with the work I did, which is easier said than done for a writer.
> 
> Thank you again for all the support, and special thanks to everyone who had a hand in making these Sokkla Saturdays a complete success. I'm beyond proud to have been worked alongside all of you, and I hope I continue to do so for many years to come! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this iteration of Sokkla Saturdays 2020!


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